Ethereal folky progger Jo Beth Young has announced that she will release her latest album Broken Spells through Wise Queen and Speegra Records on March 1.
It's Young's third release but first under her own name. She has previously released albums as both RISE and Talitha Rise. Four years in the making, Broken Spells charts Young's journey from “confirmed life-long” pagan and non dualist to a born again Christian, a radical journey she says can be heard in the songs as they unfold.
"I think I was questioning absolutely everything in life when I started this album," Young explains. "What was happening in the media, the government, the World and to us as beings. I was also looking into what was happening inside of me. This meant asking myself deep questions such as whether for all my beliefs I was a good person? Had I been corrupted in any way? Did I need to purify my intentions in life? Looking at the world I started asking, does evil really exist? And if it does, does that mean the opposite must also exist and be true?
"I started to see that there was something bigger than personal and physical conflict going on, that there was indeed a bigger spiritual war at play. I came to realise that spells are everywhere. When we believe anything we’re told or is spoken over our life, that is a spell in itself. I was exploring how I could break these? How we could find truth and clarity? I think that's really the living impetus behind the songs; Seeking truth and breaking strongholds and illusions."
Broken Spells features guest appearances from guitarist Peter Yates (Fields Of The Nephilim), cellist Ben Roberts (Silver Moth/Prosthetic Head) Jules Bangs on bass, John Reed (Steel Guitar) and Jay Newton (Abrasive Trees) on piano.
