Considering that most of David D’Alessio’s infectious, wildly eclectic new EP This Far Apart came together and was recorded during the pandemic, our natural “go to” in thinking about its title would be that it’s a reference to social distancing. In truth, it came to him more randomly, from a sign he saw walking through Central Park one day that said “Keep This Far Apart” – which rang like a mantra in his head, only without the first word. Reflecting on the phrase, and how it connects to the project’s seven songs, the multi-talented singer/songwriter – whose last release was the critically acclaimed acoustic oriented 2014 album Some Girls – thought about relationships in general and his marriage in particular.
“Even in the greatest of them, no matter how close you are to each other,” he says, “there’s always this sort of longing between you, some mystery – like you know the person so well but don’t really know everything. You can support your significant other, but are not always each other’s only means of support.”
On the EP’s new single, the spirited, jangly, ultra-poppy “Everything We Want,” D’Alessio conveys this unique sense of longing – and the intrusion of life’s limitations that can hinder even the most enduring connections - via colorful images of shared experiences in a “hot July in Lexington” at “Bonaroo,” at “Cinema 12” and “the times we had, baby, out by the highway, hot as hell.” But the hook he keeps getting back to sums up his hard-won philosophy after taking some years off from recording and performing to raise his young daughter: “If it’s real, I’ll just wait for it/If it’s real, this could be our story. . .Everything we want will come true.”
In a recent interview he gave to PensEyeView.com, D’Alessio says that This Far Apart is a “left turn” for him, free of pre-conceived sonic commitments and without the trappings of the acoustic guitar. Stepping back, he elaborates, allowed him to “experiment and try on different coats.” His ongoing commitment to making sure his vocals are perfect allow us to experience his Adam Levine-like falsetto magic on the funky, high energy “Before Tonight” and the mystical chill flavored seduction “Talking with my Hands.” Another gem is the intimate piano ballad “Crazy Love,” a lament about the difficulty of leaving behind a lover you’re involved with for only the most superficial sexual of reasons. The singer also creates a fresh, haunting and atmospheric vibe around a revisit to the “overcoming fear” themed “Throw Yourself in Front of It,” whose original, more conventional singer-songwriter version appeared on Some Girls.
D’Alessio brings a remarkable background to his current creative endeavors, which include his first performance in NYC (Rockwood Music Hall) in many years. Since releasing his debut album Songs to Undress Your Ego in 2007, the Hawaiian born, Arizona raised artist has toured extensively, including opening shows for Colbie Caillat, Brett Dennen, Missy Higgins and Lifehouse, and has drawn comparisons like “the Jason Mraz of the Southwest,” “the plaintive heights of Damien Rice and a “tenor reminiscent of Duncan Sheik.” “Throw Yourself…” was licensed by Amazon Web Services and has been heard as a “hold song” on American Shield, Turbo Tax, Priceline, etc. His holiday song “I Love this Time of Year,” sung by Devyn Rush, has placed in numerous Hallmark, Freeform and NBC films and shows.
“Music and I are in a long term relationship that I'm never gonna get out of,” muses D’Alessio about his lifelong passi. “And sometimes music abuses me and sometimes I abuse it. But we keep talking, working through it, learning to communicate. We have hard lines with each other like, no violence, no lying, no cheating. But beyond that, I keep growing, discovering, expanding, listening to everything, even the stuff I don't want to listen to initially. I keep developing my sound because I keep listening, feeling and being open.”
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