We’ve updated our Terms of Use to reflect our new entity name and address. You can review the changes here.
We’ve updated our Terms of Use. You can review the changes here.

Next Town's Trees

by Jesse Blake Rundle

supported by
Jeremy Jensen
Jeremy Jensen thumbnail
Dolan
Dolan thumbnail
Scott Shatzer
Scott Shatzer thumbnail
mosstalon
mosstalon thumbnail
jcreed33
jcreed33 thumbnail
/

  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    Purchasable with gift card

      $12 USD  or more

     

  • Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    Vinyl edition of Next Town's Trees pressed on 180g heavyweight vinyl.

    Includes unlimited streaming of Next Town's Trees via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 5 days
    edition of 100 

      $25 USD or more 

     

  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    Includes unlimited streaming of Next Town's Trees via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 5 days

      $15 USD or more 

     

  • T-Shirt/Shirt + Digital Album

    Next Town's Trees cover art T-Shirt. Art by Tyson Gough.

    Burgundy.
    Gildan 5000.
    The 100% cotton men's classic tee with structured feel.

    Includes unlimited streaming of Next Town's Trees via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 7 days

      $25 USD or more 

     

  • Full Digital Discography

    12
    releases

    Get all 12 Jesse Blake Rundle releases available on Bandcamp and save 40%.

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Artifacts of Water EP (Deluxe Version), Next Town's Trees, Angels we have heard, It's Gold Outside, Henceforth, Radishes and Flowers, The Death of a Soldier (single), Radishes and Flowers (single), and 4 more. , and , .

    Purchasable with gift card

      $34.20 USD or more (40% OFF)

     

1.
Fire 03:15
lyrics
buy track
Saw the fields empty in Autumn again Another day is done Isn't it amazing what goodness it gives Call me dear, call me, call gently Call me home Fire burns brightly but I'm not one to see All of the ashes were sparkling Fire burn easy don’t take alight on me Embers falling and widening We had it all We had it all We had it all Oh anna you must have seen the ghost It was hiding out right underneath your coat True believer can’t let the fire burn out Every roadside flower quickens too the mouth I burned a fire for the future I burned a fire for the past I lit a candle for the bread we break and pass around this table And hope it lasts Can we Have it all Again
2.
Fools & Ghosts 02:51
lyrics
buy track
What seafaring fools We'd be just to try Stretched out on a placid Aegean under sky The war's over So long ago I already told you I wait so patient here Your own kind of swaggering And out at the mast Waiting to come home The queen of a capture Relieve us somehow Take all that I have and Take all that i want Outlast Outlast the coming storm Don't throw us over Overboard Wine dark sea Swelling to take all of me The queen of a capture What fools and ghosts Sometime we will have it Sometime we will want Sometime we will have it Sometime we will want Sometime
3.
I Want You to Know 04:19
lyrics
buy track
I will follow you into any great fire Just not the one we’ve set here today You could not prepare me for this No persuasive words No little notes No scraps of flames I want you, I want you, to know I didn’t mean to whisper with the words I said Hoping to hoping to know If this was redder than the ashes glow This little, this little flame If it were only yours I might be able to overlook The way you look at me I want you I want you I want you I want you to know I didn’t hear a whisper in the words you said Hoping to hoping to know If this was redder than the ashes glow
4.
White Hot 03:00
lyrics
buy track
White hot Flash bright Hold me closer like it's Red, stop Why not let the Fire grow hotter than the Yellow ray shinin On your eyes Tonight, tonight Be bright Be bright Be brighter than Tomorrow ever promised Yet the sky breaks open To the shapes your shoulders Make into Your eyes Your eyes Your eyes Your eyes White fire shines on the Last row of trees For the shadows not metaphor It’s a good time to wandering in pines Like a lover tell me weather stories In the meadow Under nothing But a yellow Hot bright and blue Can we run against the moving shade That moves with all the motion over everything we've made Hands that grasp, on your face Every morning, every, all the light that we have made In a dream, I see everything Arrayed arrayed arrayed arrayed Can you flash white Flash red Bright like a firework Lit up on the lamp Wrong day like it's right Jump high sideswipe Pull the light to another's eyes Bright bright brighter Than be bright Be gentle and Stop here at the Marvel of the moon
5.
Yes, I'm Angry 02:59
lyrics
buy track
Yes I'm angry And I'm not supposed to be I know, I know, I’m the one coming clean Picturesque scene No mistaking the scheme I'd be frozen acrylic In the painting you're making of me And we'll someday be happy We’ll not never be happy Up in heaven they say we'll be happy Yes I'm angry And I'm not supposed to be What once was gone Placed on a stage I’d rather hang there in foyers of yesterday Just throw the stone right into the frame
6.
Hand in Hand 05:57
lyrics
buy track
This street is empty, that street is empty The car goes passing quietly from this to that No one will hear us laughing The sidewalks are empty of anyone The cover's thin, the air is open up above The season's ending early, the leaves are on the ground And we are hand in hand And we are hand in hand And we are hand in hand in hand in hand In hand in hand in hand in hand The sky is like a glove No one can hear us laughing No one can hear us loving No one can hear us laughing No one can hear us loving The sky is opening up until you realize I can see you I can know you I can see you I can know you This street is empty, that street is empty The car goes silently passing quietly through our laughing No one can hear us laughing No one can hear us loving No one can hear me crying Cause I'm not anymore
7.
Next Town's Trees 04:53
lyrics
buy track
What's the one they rung about The one they sung about The one they talked about Said all those words down to me Can't erase the ringing now With words irregular and loud Not clear enough Oh oh oh can't hear you The bells tolled so long The birds all moved on To the next town's trees The bells tolled so long The birds all moved on To the next town's trees Ten thousand yards A hundred weeks The rains still come And hide our feet Don’t choose to fall Just take and leave Don’t wait and see So many lies to leave The bells tolled so long The birds all moved on To the next town trees
8.
Stones 04:29
lyrics
buy track
I'm for sure that I'm the one you didn't want To go out to your war At the walls of Jericho we close the door It ricochets our names Once before you at least imagine that you went to war I heard it in your sleep Grand as horses on the hillside looking fierce And galloping to their knees Won't this stone rattle a little bit When I yell at it Won't this wall shake within the bones of it When I kick and scream and pour out just 'bout everything in a god damn fiery scene The stones wouldn't shake The stones wouldn't break The stones just stayed right in their place No one's goin to war today No one's goin to war today No one's goin to war today No one should have died today

about

‘Next Town’s Trees’ is an 8 track album by Boise indie-folk musician, Jesse Blake Rundle, produced with bandmate and engineer, Nate Agenbroad.

“I wrote these songs during a time of immense change in my life: I was finally leaving the church, uncovering my sexuality, starting my first relationship with a man, figuring out joy in sobriety, and settling into my life as a musician,” he says. Jesse explores themes of modern identity and self discovery with a poet’s eye for detail. His acute observations are capable of catharsis and comfort during dark times.

“Can we have it all again?” Jesse sings on the first track ‘Fire.’ As an opening, ‘Fire’ not only establishes the album’s mood but is a story in itself. A farm house burns on the Kansas hills. Everything is lost. But, there is still a desire to be present: “I burned a fire for the future, I burned a fire for the past, I lit a candle for the bread we break and pass around this table, and hope it lasts.” Like the rest of the album, the arrangements here are ambitious; synthesizers and horns augment Jesse’s humble acoustic guitar and his trenchant vocals. ‘Fire’ sets the stage for an album that will not diminish to embers.

After the opener, the album changes tact with “Fools and Ghosts” - the first single. Anchored by a beguiling guitar line, the song is equally indebted to Radiohead as it is to sailor sea shanties. It’s the sort of quick, catchy, immediately likable tune that becomes more rewarding on repeat listens.“Take all that I have and take all that I want,” Jesse belts during the chorus, offering himself to a metaphorical and literal raging sea. The central hook rises and falls throughout the song, nearly disappearing during an unexpected and off-kilter bridge, before finally dissolving in the song's final seconds. With this track and “Fire,” Jesse has offered two of the best folk rock tracks in recent memory.

And if the album had been content to deliver mid-tempo rockers, it would have been a triumph. But it’s clear Jesse has more ambitious goals. After the opening couplet, the album takes a breath, lowers its defenses and opens up a softer side. ‘I Want you to Know’ explores a troubled relationship.“I want you , I want you to know, I didn’t mean to whisper in the words I said” Jesse sings in a electronic-singed register. The song has the timber of an emotionless confession, two lovers flatly coming to terms with each other, but just when the song should fade out, drift away on a note of pained resignation, a brass section emerges and imbues the track with unexpected optimism.

Then, the stage is set for “White Hot,” the second single and anchor of the entire album. Of the song, Jesse says, “My first experiences with love after coming out were some of the warmest, richest experiences I’ve ever had.” A classic love song, “White Hot” features a whispering Jesse as he attempts to articulate the indescribable: young love. Babbling through three verses before sighing into a stunning chorus, the song evokes dreamy innocence that somehow avoids feeling simple or naive. His voice becomes as rhythmic as a snare drum as the track becomes more propulsive : “Like a lover tell me weather stories in the meadow under nothing but a yellow hot bright and blue.” The song understands how rare it is to fall in love, and every time it happens, it’s a miracle.

“White Hot”s buoyancy seeps into the following track, “Yes, I’m Angry,” but this time the lyrics run perpendicular to a jaunty earworm. “Yes, I’m Angry/ and I’m not supposed to be / I know, I know, I’m the one coming clean,” he sings on the opening verse. It is a frank depiction of rage, one that expresses the nuances and paradoxes of human anger. Is it true that life’s bitter fights and disagreements descend from our most loving and cherished relationships? Here, Rundle holds tentatively to a happy future: “and we’ll someday be happy / we’ll not never be happy.” The music itself reflects his uncertainty. The production takes the song’s rich textures and wrings out every conceivable thought of empathy. The song is fulsome and autumnal despite itself; Jesse can rage, but love is bound to spring from such concentric swirls.

With ‘Hand in Hand’ Jesse is back to romance. He sings “No one can hear us laughing, no one can hear us loving” with a soft echo pulsating. It’s a procession designed for deep contemplation and evoking the wet streets and fall trees of Boise, Idaho. It’s warm, respectful, and coming to the denouement, even spiritual. Another departure on an album that displays the full gambit of subtle diversions.

Out of an unfocused haze rises the title track, ‘Next Town’s Trees.’ “In 2007 I spent a year in Santa Fe,” Rundle says of the song. “I’d often sit in this park where the nearby monastery bell tower would ring, but it would only reach the park bench where I sat when the wind blew it in. That’s the image of this song for me. A bell-tower that’s now in the distance and almost a memory. It’s a story of moving on from my evangelical faith.”

From the first moments of this track, it’s clear the album has also moved on: past folk rock, past pop music structure, past assumptions on what albums must be in 2022. Pulsating plumes of synths emerge – almost post-rock in their intensity – and then Rundle’s voice pitches itself over the cacophony. The song is the album’s definitive statement, swooping and soaring like a sermon. “The bells tolled so long, the birds all moved on, to the next town’s trees.” It’s another spiritual peak, non-linear and stunning. It’s as experimental as Jesse Blake Rundle has ever ventured, but it might also become his calling card.

“This is a song, and even an album, for the deconstructionists, questioning their evangelical upbringing or whatever constraints they feel they need to leave behind.” Rundle says, “I’ve come to my own answers about faith and I’m trying to tell my story of what I’ve found on the other side.”

With seven songs done, the album is almost complete. But before closing, Rundle offers a protest song in the aftermath of January 6, 2021. “I’d spent years living around the capitol complex in DC - skateboarding down the hill with friends, biking, and just walking through the grounds while catching up with distant friends on the phone. It was tragic to see it turn into a place of violence. I wrote this song out of my despair and anger at that scene.” Like elsewhere, lush arrangements replicate a devotional religious aura: “The stones wouldn’t break, the stones wouldn’t shake, the stones just stayed right in there place.” Another brass section begins to blare, and we leave the album in a moment of stunned reverie, drifting in contemplation of humanity’s better nature.

‘Next Town’s Trees’ offers variety and vulnerability across its 8 tracks, but more importantly, each moment depends on another and has been perfectly sequenced across a sonic arc. A front-to-back listen reveals new layers, circling just beneath what you thought you knew but could only guess at. In short, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, and with ‘Next Town’s Trees’s release, Jesse Blake Rundle has found his voice.

credits

released March 3, 2023

All songs written by Jesse Blake Rundle
Produced by Jesse Blake Rundle
Engineered by Nate Agenbroad
Recorded at Mixed Metaphor Studios in Boise, Idaho
Mixed by Kal Pipal
Mastered by Maria Triana
Cover artwork by Tyson Gough
Vinyl layout and design by Jesse Blake Rundle

Jesse Blake Rundle
All performances, drum programming, and arrangements unless otherwise noted

Nate Agenbroad
Live drums on Tracks 1, 2, & 7
Harmonies on Tracks 1, 2, & 7
Bass on Track 2

Jonny Enright
Trombones on Tracks 1, 3, & 8

Yoed Nir
Strings performance on Track 5
Cello & string arrangement on Track 5
Recorded at Yoed Nir's Studios

THANK YOU
Lizzy Ellison and the whole Doe Records songwriting class (Dolan Leckliter, Gretchen Klempa, Antony Abrahams, Derrick Brown, Shannon Netemeyer, Jose Velazco, Rachel Rufrano, Emily Logan, Chelsea Rose. I couldn’t have made this without you all). Most of these songs came together during our class and each one of you inspired me to keep going, to chase new ideas, and to feel confident in my own voice.
Nate Agenbroad, for your friendship and willingness to chase ideas with me and bring all your engineering knowledge to create the sounds I imagine.
The Mond-A-Sides crew (Owen, John, Amber, Nico, Audrey, Emily, and many more) for keeping me sane during the pandemic, and sharing the love of art and music.
Tyson Gough for your friendship and the lovely album art.
Jonny Enright, for your incredible horn arrangements that add so much dimension to these songs
Yoed Nir, for bringing my rudimentary string ideas to life on Yes, I’m Angry, and for the incredibly moving performances.
To the Mixed Metaphor songwriting circle and all the Boise music community (Dale, Nate N, Mike, Dave, Chuck, Brad, Kelsi, Jan, Dusty, Michael, Kristi, Jens, Shaun, and so many more) - I love making music with this community.
Treefort Music Fest, for putting Boise on the map and giving local bands a shot at a big stage.
Lower Gentry Studios for your friendship and collaboration on so many projects - can’t wait to see what’s next.
Mike Harris, Dave Kelly, Amy Fosha, Sumar Alsemeiry, Logan Lynn, Chris Gutierrez, Amos Rothstein, David Burchfield, Paul Mitchell, and so many more.
To everyone who listened to my last record, I thank you, sincerely. I grew so much through putting out that album and learned to find my authentic voice by sharing music with you all.

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

Jesse Blake Rundle image

Jesse Blake Rundle Boise, Idaho

I make folk music and score films in Boise, Idaho. I've released two albums, an EP and some singles. More music is always on the way.

shows

contact / help

Contact Jesse Blake Rundle

Streaming and
Download help

Shipping and returns

Redeem code

Report this album or account

Jesse Blake Rundle recommends:

If you like Jesse Blake Rundle, you may also like:

Bandcamp Daily  your guide to the world of Bandcamp

On Bandcamp Radio

Saxophonist Isaiah Collier chats about his new LP and the influence of Pharoah Sanders.
listen now