JM LANSDOWNE - CLEAN AND UNHOLY
JM is the real deal, It doesn't matter if it's when he is telling you about heartbreak, or when he is singing about the swirl going around in his head and chest; you just believe it. Vocals explaining his truths and that raw bite sometimes letting up into a smooth melody. Let's just say we love JM here at P+P HQ. When he offered to partner on this digital release we obviously jumped at the chance. - Vinnie/P+P
“The title stems from my background of previous substance abuse which I was humbled to get clean from,” explains singer-songwriter JM Lansdowne of his deluxe EP Clean & Unholy which is due out on November 23rd via Paper + Plastick Records. “I grew up in two environments as a kid, one was a strict Christian home and the other was without God. But who is anyone to call themselves holy? Growing up in a Christian environment was no different and probably much worse at times.”
The 7-song deluxe EP Clean & Unholy was recorded in Dallas, Texas; Valparaiso, Indiana; and Lima, Ohio by Quentin Black. From break up, divorce, loss and surviving (“Yesterday’s Gold”) to star gazing, mapping and memories (“High Noon Lora”) to desperation (“11pm”) to longing, crazy romance and chaos (“Hotel Keys”) to a relationship with a ghost (“Ghost of Marie”) to drunk and young love (“Baby Blue”) – Lansdowne uses songwriting to cope with heartache and loss. Lansdowne also pays homage to Bob Dylan, a longtime influence, performing a rendition of “She Belongs To Me”.
Set in a rural small town, this story is told by a night shift bar tender and touring musician, who is often found poking at hints of hopeless romanticism with a stick from time to time, and reminiscing about ghosts of the past. “The songs reflect a lot of things that I had to go through to get to where I am now and become who I am today,” adds Lansdowne. “I was hauling ass with a tour schedule and a failing marriage. Late night fights over the phone in hotel rooms, landing in certain cities to score the drugs I was looking for at the time and then getting clean, which is not a pleasant experience. Being served divorce papers right before going on stage… Shortly after the failed attempt to save my marriage, I found myself back out on the road doing what I love again and before I knew it I ended up meeting a girl that became very dear to me. She would even travel on the road with me and sell merch. Things were picking up and we were supposed to move to Ohio together until I got a phone call from a friend who had just received word that my girlfriend was found dead. These lyrics seem to reminisce on many of the underlying happenings behind the story’s core. It’s a behind the scenes soundtrack more or less.”
In 2014, JM Lansdowne was taken under the wing of Vinnie Fiorello, which birthed the opportunity to reside on Paper + Plastick Records’ roster alongside John Moreland, Chad Price, The Ataris and Mike Herrera’s Tumbledown. Lansdowne spends a great deal of time on the road and has found himself sharing intimate venues with acts such as American Aquarium, Elliott, Eisley, Shiny Toy Guns, Seth Robinson (Nowhere Fast), Pasadena, JT Woodruff (Hawthorne Heights), Myla Smith, Mae and many more. In addition, he’s also the vocalist and guitarist in dark Americana duo Low Spirits with Fiorello.