With his brand new album, Critterland, folksinger Willi Carlisle invites his listeners to reckon with the inevitability of human suffering and grow in love; all through joining together in song. And Carlisle’s songs are ripe for a singalong. Out today via Signature Sounds, Critterland has already earned praise from the likes of Rolling Stone, Associated Press, SPIN, and more, and garnered fans in fellow songwriters BJ Barham and Tyler Childers.

Willi Carlisle’s “Higher Lonesome” is the only completely true story from his upcoming album Critterland. While the other nine tracks are certainly based on real people in real places, “Higher Lonesome” is wholly Carlisle living through dark, searching times in the tail end of 2021 and into the new year.

“It’s kind of about getting a little older, moving from hard drugs and hookups to bedroom sex and pharmaceuticals,” says folksinger Willi Carlisle of his latest single “When The Pills Wear Off.” “It’s an amalgam of queer stories that I’ve heard, lived, and seen.” Devastating and gorgeous, Carlisle’s fingerpicked ballad serves as the penultimate tune from his upcoming album Critterland—out January 26th via Signature Sounds—and a flawless example of the songcraft that’s garnered fans like Tyler Childers and BJ Barham.