David Baerwald Resurfaces On Lost Highway

"The thing is, you've got to be resilient in this world," David Baerwald says. "Stuff is going to happen. Stuff is going to hit you."

The subject of resilience is something Baerwald knows a bit about, and it has been the calling card of the characters inhabiting his songs during a career that has earned a devoted following and considerable critical acclaim.

Here Comes the New Folk Underground arrives July 16, nine years after his last solo set, Triage. "People actually thought I was in jail or dead or in a mental hospital or something," he says with a laugh. Though there has not been a proper solo release, Baerwald has been busy writing for others and working on music for films—including "Come What May" from Moulin Rouge, which earned him a Golden Globe nomination. A follow-up to Triage, was not a priority for Baerwald who, noting the proliferation of teen acts and exposed navels, says, "I was very hesitant to put my heart on the marketplace."

The new solo project has its roots in the tragic death of the young son of longtime friend and collaborator Bill Botrell. "I felt the real need to just do something personal," he says. "Something personal" turned out to be gathering friends in his Los Angeles recording studio in 1998. "I wanted to do something really pure and simple, to just get through this thing." Six weeks later, nearly 30 songs were eventually issued, through a Baerwald fan site as the limited A Fine Mess set.

A copy made its way to Lost Highway president Luke Lewis and senior VP of A&R Frank Callari, who eagerly inked Baerwald to the label's roster. "This stuff is as good as anything he's ever done," Callari says. Baerwald's work, including co-writing several of Sheryl Crow's early hits, has secured an audience that Lost Highway intends to build upon.

"With Lost Highway behind it, it should do really well," says Don VanCleave, president of the Coalition of Independent Music Stores (CIMS).

Triple-A radio received the lead offering, the infectious rocker "Compassion," May 20, and, backed by a stellar band that includes guitarist Will Sexton, Baerwald has been doing dates ahead of the record's release. A brief break in early July, during which Baerwald will do some readings from a novel in progress, will be followed by more road dates starting later in the month.

Here Comes the New Folk Underground is a striking record, featuring the evocative, cinematic lyrics that are Baerwald's trademark. There's no shortage of eclectic, effortless melodies, either, like the Oakland soul-styled "Love #29," the gauzy, dream-like "The Crash," and the ebullient, horn-driven "Nothing's Gonna Bring Me Down." From hard circumstances, Baerwald and friends have forged a record that is a life-affirming response.