Los Angeles-based band Leland and the Silver Wells are set to release their fifth album, ‘Riverboat,’ on February 23rd, and today’s song is of course taken from that album. ‘Six Feet Underground‘ is a psychedelic blast of Cosmic American Music, with unexpected blends of melodies, instruments which drift in and out and lyrics which seem clear – and then opaque…and then just mysterious. If the opening verse takes some unpicking: “Find me outside the border Divine in me eternal order / There is a garden wall and an endless hall didn’t make me fall / In times of consummate madness the world gives birth to infinite gladness / It is a rocky road we wield a heavy load but we’re still alive” then at least the chorus is clear enough: it’s too late to sort things out when you’re dead, if you’re making changes or engaging in life then now is the only time. Or as Leland And The Silver Wells put it “Don’t wait too late don’t miss this time around / Don’t wait too late when you’re six feet underground.”
‘Riverboat‘ itself is something of a concept album – themes run through it. Heavy themes exploring. life, death, heartbreak, resilience, and freedom. We’ve previously described Leland Ettinger’s music as showing “off her musical roots, inspired in equal measure by Joni and the Floyd. Which, it transpires, means a CSN ‘Wooden Ships‘ type sound that has the rich Laurel Canyon vocals melded into tempo changes and solid rock riffing” . And we’re happy to stand by that assessment.
