The first three albums from JD Eicher & the Goodnights, a band that drew comparisons to indie-pop acts such as Coldplay, Keane and Death Cab for Cutie, formed a trilogy with titles that completed a phrase: “The Shape of Things,” “Shifting” and “Into Place.”
Album four, “The Middle Distance,” not only breaks the chain, it drops “& the Goodnights” from the name, despite the group being pretty much intact.
Where: Christine Frechard Gallery, 5871 Forbes Ave, Squirrel Hill.
When: 7:30 p.m. Friday.
Tickets: $15; www.universe.com.
“After doing those three records, it felt like time to regroup, and I kind of wanted to take songwriting and make it more personal again,” says the singer-songwriter from Youngstown, Ohio. “I wanted to sit down and write the songs I wanted to write, say the things I wanted to say. It’s more of a journal entry/diary approach to songwriting.”
Having recorded the previous two albums in Washington, D.C., and Nashville, they did “The Middle Distance,” which comes out on the Nashville-based Rock Ridge Music (Steve Forbert, the Damnwells, Ike Reilly, Sister Hazel, etc.), in his basement, aiming for a more intimate feel.
It opens with a ringing guitar a la U2 on “This Heart,” before Mr. Eicher eases into the kind of yearning, shimmering folk-pop single that made Ed Sheeran a star. “Inside this heart, all my fears, all my worries are alive…,” he sings. “This heart is beating, this heart is beating, this heart is beating me up.”
“Be Well” is a calming message to his harried generation to “stay young, make love, be well.” “Lines in the Sky,” he says, is “an ode to the good people in my life,” in the light of everything being fleeting. “Not Everybody Runs” is the most narrative song, told in three snapshots: a scared, reluctant soldier, a couple facing an unplanned pregnancy and an imprisoned woman who knows she belongs there. “Not everybody’s running, everybody’s not running now,” he sings in a soaring falsetto.
“They’re these three different stories, and all people who end up making the difficult choice,” he says. “I tried to put this all in a song, the idea of courage and bravery in a situation. I admire those people who can make the difficult choices.”
The lightest, bounciest song is “A Little Bit,” which at one point breaks down with, “I didn’t write any lyrics for this part of the song … everybody relax.” It’s a very Paul Simon kind of moment.
“He’s a huge influence on me,” Mr. Eicher says. “I got some courage from Paul Simon on that, for sure.”
Although pretty and poppy and flowing, the songs are best enjoyed by people who like carefully drawn lyrics.
“It does seem like the present era isn’t as receptive to more lyric-forward songs,” he says. “But there are people like that who seek that stuff out, because I know I’m one of them. I’m certainly not going after the current popular market or anything like that with these songs. This is going to be music that hopefully finds the right ears.”
Thus far, he and the Goodnights have been able to build a small national following.
“This is my full-time career and has been for several years. I kind of joke around and say I’ve taken the scenic route. We’re not famous and it’s not the rock star life, but it has been really rewarding. I like the fact that it’s been a longer road and a slower climb, because I feel like I’ve been able to appreciate everything.”
Scott Mervis: smervis@post-gazette.com; 412-263-2576. Twitter: @scottmervis_pg
First Published: May 5, 2016, 4:00 a.m.