Chicago’s Joe George takes us track-by-track through his soothing and stirring third album ‘FOLK CINEMA,’ a dreamy record of reflection and reckoning that aches with the warmth, weight, and wonder of life itself.

Stream: “Stone’s Throw” – Joe George

What a world you could see when you just pretend. When I grow up, I want to be a kid again…

There’s a sweet heat rippling throughout Joe George’s third studio album.

It’s the kind of warmth and tenderness you can’t manufacture; a charm that comes from simply being yourself, and letting your heart and soul speak their truths. When George opens the record with a song about showing up and being present for his loved ones, we believe him; when he sings about recognizing his own limitations, and accepting help from others in the aptly titled “Don’t Have to Do It Yourself,” we can relate to that earnest humility. And when he expresses the visceral desire to be present and live in the moment on closer “Come Tomorrow,” we feel that familiar pull in our guts as well.

In putting himself out there without constraint, Joe George has created a vessel through which we can see ourselves as clearly as we see him: As flesh and bone forever navigating life’s stormy seas, doing the best we can to survive and thrive in our endless search for meaning, purpose, connection, and understanding. A dreamy record of reflection and reckoning, FOLK CINEMA aches with the warmth and wonder of life itself as Joe George invites us into his home.

Folk Cinema - Joe George — FOLK CINEMA – Joe George

out on the border line
where I run for peace of mind
out where the open meets the road
I’m a stone’s throw
I’m not here to say too much
Just want to be around, want to be in touch
I want to be here before I go
I’m a stone’s throw

I don’t care where the cameras are
I just want to be your co-star
Pull your arm back, just to let it go
‘Cause I’m a stone’s throw
All the voices in my head
I don’t care what the newsman said
I’ll shout it out on the radio
I’m a stone’s throw

– “Stone’s Throw,” Joe George

Independently released August 16, 2024, FOLK CINEMA is a soothing, stirring balm for the mind, the ears, and the soul. Arriving two years after his sophomore LP Golden Afternoon, George’s third studio album is a breathtakingly beautiful (re)introduction to the Chicago-based singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and two-time Emmy nominated film scorer. A formidable force both onstage and behind the scenes, Joe George Shadid also co-runs a studio out of the Audiotree building, has toured together with bands like Into It. Over It and Pantera’s Rex Brown, and records guitar and gear videos for REVERB.

Joe George 'Folk Cinema' © Cory Dewald — Joe George ‘Folk Cinema’ © Cory Dewald

But songwriting is, and forever will be, one of George’s first loves – and for the past six years, he has let listeners into his world through songs that come from and speak to, the heart.

While the core vulnerability and folk sensibilities of his art have remained largely the same throughout that time, George’s sound has evolved significantly from his earliest releases. He has expanded his scope – the instruments he employs, the way he wields his voice – and pushed the boundaries of his production, and the studio itself, all in service to the songs themselves.

“This record evolved out of a natural inclination to write simple sentiments. Rooted in folk, draped in cinematic and minimalist textures, exposed with plumbs of light, and captured with a dusty lens,” George tells Atwood Magazine. “The vision changed 2 or 3 times throughout, but one major tenant of the vision that was landed upon was to ‘reel in’ rather than ‘reach out.’ This was something to keep in mind during the performances in the studio, and I’m glad we arrived at this sentiment. It made for a more intimate dynamic all around.”

“These songs and sounds could be taken many ways,” he adds. “We experimented with ‘failing’ tape sounds a few times on the record. At one point, Brian Deck (co-producer) said, ‘people are going to think the studio is broken,’ and that got a laugh. The truth is, someone could hear it and think, ‘huh, that sounds kind of weird.’ And someone else could hear it and think, ‘wow, that sounds fascinating.’”

**For his part, George considers Folk Cinema to be nostalgic, dusty, and patient.**

The album’s title is a mantra he created for himself, “to remind myself of the general color of things I was after,” he explains. “Creating textures that sounded like lights, exposing pieces of the songs, ‘lighting them up and shooting them with a camera,’ so to speak. At a certain point in the process, it became clear that Folk Cinema would be the title of the record.”

The name ‘folk cinema’ certainly comes with a smorgasbord of sonic and visual imagery, all of which the album itself faithfully manifests over its short, but mighty 27-minute run. From the smile-inducing promise of his scene-setting album opener “Stone’s Throw” to the achingly candid confessions of “I Hope I Never Understand” and “When I Grow Up,” the dynamic energy and heat of “Sewing the Seams” and “Don’t Have to Do It Yourself,” and the calm, ethereal catharsis of “Long as You Love,” FOLK CINEMA is an all-consuming enchantment: A blanket of intimacy, vulnerability, and raw self-expression channeled out into the world through lush, tranquil, dreamy sound.

“‘Stone’s Throw,’ I think, will always hold a special place for me,” George says on the topic of favorites. “It was the first song I wrote for the record. It immediately captured me, and pushed a vision for a new collection of songs. That’s a special feeling.”

“There are some lyrics I really do like,” he adds. “In the second song on the record, ‘I Hope I Never Understand’: ‘If it’s the mystery that makes life grand – then i hope i never understand. Reveling in the unknown, the mysteries of life. I have found a peaceful place there. Not trying to understand everything that’s going on in this confusing, dynamic, wonderful, dark, hopeful, tragic world we live in.”

“I also really enjoy the lyric from ‘Come Tomorrow’: ‘I want to be still, in a garden in Japan, with my head half empty and my heart half full.’ Just a really special place in the world, physically and metaphysically. To un-think, in stillness, and be grateful for everything. That’s a special place. I’m glad I was able to put it in very simple words. That one felt good.”

**Ultimately, FOLK CINEMA is a record of life’s little, everyday thoughts and feelings.**

It’s the in-between moments that make up our real lives – the kind of things we don’t talk about every day, or see reflected back to us in movies or TV. It’s the meaningful smiles, the memorable conversations, the laughs, the cries, the hopes, the heartaches, and so much more.

“I hope listeners take in some memories from their life, dust them off a bit, and reframe them. And I hope they stay in touch – whatever that means for them,” George shares. “For me, I have taken in a sense of lightness with this record. I have remained light-hearted in the creation, the production, and now, the release. These processes can be pretty stressful and questionable and confusing. Somehow I have been able to just let it unfold into the world and not allow the pressure of the music business to bother me… for the most part!”

Experience the full record via our below stream, and peek inside Joe George’s Folk Cinema with Atwood Magazine as he takes us track-by-track through the music and lyrics of his third studio album!

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:: stream/purchase Folk Cinema here ::

:: connect with Joe George here ::

Stream: ‘Folk Cinema’ – Joe George

:: Inside Folk Cinema ::

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STONE’S THROW

This is a song about wanting to be in touch, around, for the people in your life. A “stone’s throw” away from the friends who need you. I sing, “I want to be HERE, before I GO,” as in: While we’re here, we’d better be around. This song represents a desire to patiently grow with your friends and family and the people in your life.

I HOPE I NEVER UNDERSTAND

So much of life is spent trying to understand. This is a song that seeks the pleasure and wonder of the great unknown, to find the tranquility of acceptance in what we don’t know. “If it’s the mystery that makes life grand, then I hope I never understand.” There’s some kind of peace in just reveling in it all.

DON’T HAVE TO DO IT YOURSELF

This song opens with the lyrics ‘Somebody told ya you were weak, cause you needed some help.’ This is a voice that comes from too many places, whether it’s from our own heads, or from “macho culture” and overflexing know-it-alls. If it’s the former, then take care, and be gentle with yourself. If it’s the latter, try your damndest to ignore those people. You can be soft, vulnerable, and inviting of help, collaboration, and inner peace, without sacrificing some social standing rooted in a nonsense definition of what it means to be ‘strong.’ There is strength in peace, which we may not hear from the loudest voices.

SEWING THE SEAMS

This song is about putting things in place, allowing them to be threaded into the fabric of your life. It’s also greatly elevated by the trumpet blanket that it’s folded up into the song.

WHEN I GROW UP

This has the ironic idea of growing up and becoming a kid but the wish and message is sincere. To hold on to that simple joy and curiosity as we mature.

PATCHING

There is a Japanese term “kintsukuroi,” which translates to “golden repair.” It is the art of repairing broken pottery with gold, resulting in a beautiful, gold-seamed object that is perhaps more stunning than before it was broken.

LONG AS YOU LOVE

This song is a pretty straightforward message. When you show love, the music sounds better, the food tastes better, the memories stretch further into the fabric of your experience. The things that make your strange existence brighter, will illuminate, long as you love.

NOT THE ONLY ONE

There’s a comfort in realizing you’re not alone in virtually any feeling. That it’s been felt before, and how freeing that realization can be.

COME TOMORROW

The line “I want to be still, in a garden in Japan, with my head half empty and my heart half full” gets to the crux of the song. To cradle the desire to be here in the present, while also embracing that the only constant is change.

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