A Life In Trade, the fifth studio album from Pierce Edens, is due September 15, 2023. Today, the rural North Carolina born-and-raised songwriter and craftsman shares the first single from his forthcoming work – a nostalgic rendition of Sesame Street’s iconic ballad, “I Don’t Want to Live on the Moon” (listen/share). Aptly positioned at the close of the record, the earnest lullaby draws the curtain on Edens’ most soul-baring work to date. The single is available for streaming and purchase today on all digital music platforms.
Edens’ artistic nature spans multiple disciplines. A veteran touring musician, he has alternated seamlessly between a breakneck life on the road and long stints at his idyllic family homestead for the better part of a decade. In 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic halted almost all aspects of daily life, Edens embraced solitary living on his multi-acre property, tending religiously to the land before an enthusiastic digital audience. For months on end, Edens would share raw, unprompted videos of solo porch-picking sessions, farm tours, and heartfelt sit-down conversations with his social media fans. Through his relatability, he colored beautifully those things that were difficult to find at the time – a sense of belonging and purpose, humor, and normalcy. Despite the abysmal nature of the time, creative inspiration was in generous supply. The therapeutic act of shepherding his land not only rewarded Edens in harvest, it uncovered a rich garden bed of imagination, sprouting seeds for new song ideas and rogue lyrics that would eventually make up A Life In Trade.
Honoring the magic of collaboration, the title A Life in Trade harkens back to a business deal that Edens made with Mike Savino of the bands Tall Tall Trees and Kishi Bashi. Savino, in search of a carpenter to help him build a recording studio, called on Edens, whom he knew had the skills and experience to bring his vision to life. In lieu of payment, the musicians traded time for time: building for recording; trim for tracking; flooring for mixing; sound proofing for sound making. The byproducts of such an agreement reached further than either one of them could predict.
Fastened with refined vocals and masterful accompaniment, A Life In Trade successfully preserves Edens’ signature rugged sound while also achieving a more intimate disposition than previous albums. Its blue-collar theme is tissued over a striking architecture of raw and relatable love songs – Edens celebrates finding love after “years piling up” in the opening track “The Only Ones;” he laments losing it in the heart-wrenching proclamation “Lovely Bones,” and expresses longing for it in “I Want You.” In “Two Pennies,” Edens alludes to the album's title by declaring, “you can live your life on trade, but in the end we all pay two pennies to the ferryman.” Finally, the album travels outward to timely, universal concepts in its only cover song “I Don’t Want to Live on the Moon,” where Edens makes a poignant note of society’s preoccupation with living on other planets.
Each song and interlude are a testament to the skill of Edens’ longtime bandmate Kevin Reese. Playing guitar and mandolin, Reese conjoins, layers, and expands with poetic breaks and soulful licks that underline his years of stage-sharing with Edens. Savino also appears on bass, banjo, and percussion, providing the full depth of his musical knowledge and innovative application.
Memorializing a unique chapter of uncertainty and estrangement in our global fabric, the 40-minute listen underwrites the beauty and long lasting impact of connection in spite of the hurdles such an era presents. With acceptance and appreciation for the cards dealt before him, Edens offers his contribution to the tapestry of today, sewing heirloom seeds to be enjoyed by future generations.
A Life in Trade will be available for streaming, download, and purchase on September 15, 2023. Listen to the first single, “I Don’t Want to Live on the Moon” now wherever you hear music. For more information on Pierce Edens, visit pierceedens.com/.
A Life in Trade Track List
The Only Ones
Whisper in the Water
Lovely Bones
Sunbreak
Trouble
Near Misses
I Want You
ATTILAGAKME
Two Pennies
I Don’t Want to Live on the Moon
Pierce Edens Tour Dates
07/01 - Sam Burchfield Rock Hoppin’ Ruckus - Black Mountain, NC
07/14 - Awendaw Green - Awendaw, SC
07/15 - Many Moons Artistry - Newberry, SC
07/22 - Chestnut Orchards Farm - Robbinsville, NC
08/03 - AVLFest - Asheville, NC
08/11 - Arapaho Valley Ranch - Granby, CO
08/12 - Swing Station - Laporte, CO^
08/13 - Cervantes Other Side - Denver, CO^
09/15 - The Grey Eagle - Asheville, NC
09/30 - Pour House - Raleigh, NC
10/05 - FR8yard - Spartanburg, SC
10/06 - Open Chord - Knoxville, TN
10/12 - Purple Onion - Saluda, NC
10/20 - Purple Fiddle - Thomas, WV
10/27 - Edisto Blackwater Boogie - Ridgeville, SC
10/28 - Blue Jay Listening Room - Jax, FL
10/29 - Eddie’s Attic - Decatur, GA
11/02 - The Room at Cedar Grove - Lewes, DE
^With Left Leg Cruiser
