Jess Williamson is gearing up for a new album, A Mile South of Heaven. Out October 9 via New West, the Texan singer-songwriter’s follow-up to 2023 LP Time Ain’t Accidental was produced by Shooter Jennings at Sunset Sound in Hollywood. Watch the mini road movie for single “Goodbye to All That” below.
The single takes its name from the Joan Didion essay, collected in Slouching Towards Bethlehem. Williamson explained in a press release, “Didion’s essay is about leaving New York after eight years and how ‘it’s distinctly possible to stay too long at the fair.’ In my eighth year of living in LA, I felt it was time to leave. I wrote this song as my farewell to LA, but songs are powerful in sneaky ways, and the song itself changed my mind. I realised I wasn’t finished with life in LA.”
Of the album, she added, “Depending on your outlook, a mile south of heaven may sound sad, or it may sound hopeful,” Williamson explains. “We’re always a mile south of the impossible goals we set for ourselves, and my point is, maybe that’s ok, because a mile is pretty close. It’s about appreciating where we are now, because there is no finish line. There is always more work to be done.”
Check out the art and tracklist below.
A Mile South of Heaven:
01 Goodbye to All That
02 High Heels and Blue Jeans
03 Country Mile
04 A Mile South of Heaven
05 Tracking the Tropics
06 Dark Day in Dallas
07 Hum of the City
08 Texas Time
09 Someone Else’s Horse
10 Legends Die
11 Battle Scar
12 The Gem and Mineral Show
