Jeff Engholm’ s latest release, Little Big Things, comes out on June 18 and there’s an online sneak peek party on May 15. It’s a collection of eclectic songs with some of the most interesting back stories!
Jeff is surrounded by music. He is a music teacher by day, plays with a number of bands (Collective Unconscious, the George Maurer Group and tribute bands), enjoys doing musicals and just finished a Master’s Degree in music theory. It’s fun to hear how each segment informs the next. The layers of musicology make the songs richer. There is such a range of instruments (such as the flute on Startup Man and water stick on Bluefin Bay), approaches and styles. It’s cohesive, not formulaic.
Turns out my favorite songs on the album, Believe in Yourself, an affirmational anthem, started out as Sad Halloween, a story of characters in a bad place. But after taking a song writing class, Jeff reworked the song, pivoted to a new direction, and created a new ethos with lines that have hidden bite, once you know the story. Then there’s Feel the Sting, originally given that working title because the song had a Police (the band) vibe. Jeff wasn’t entirely happy with the lyrics so somehow he morphed the lyrics to be about Shelob, the Spider from Lord of the Rings and about relationships.
The title song is a tribute to his mother, who passed away suddenly last summer. It’s a wistful song with a great line – you lived what I became. It’s great turn of phrase. Little Big Things is a album of so many stories.
Mostly Minnesota 