Singer-songwriter Lyle Divinsky on Friday continued the ambitious rollout of his forthcoming LP, Seasons, with another new single, “Risk It All”, the first track from the project’s second of four “chapters.”
Divinsky is due to share one new song per month throughout 2023. As the year progresses, those tracks will take the shape of four distinct “chapters” highlighting the varied sensibilities that make up his creative voice. Together, the four chapters—or Seasons—will serve as four parts of the same whole. As Lyle explained of the concept, “The world around us looks different in every season, but is still the same world.”
After completing the successful rollout of the indie- and R&B-focused first chapter last month, Lyle is moving on a new Season inspired by his folk singer/songwriter roots. That turn of the page lands on “Risk It All”, a country-folk love song featuring contributions from Nicholas Falk (drums; Hiss Golden Messenger, Molly Tuttle), Dane Farnsworth (keys; Keb’ Mo’), Adam Agati (electric guitar; Ludacris, Cory Henry, Lalah Hathaway), Paul Brainard (pedal steel; M. Ward, She & Him, The Decemberists), and Bryan Ladd (Lisa Lisa, Tortured Soul). The track was mixed by Sean O’Brien (Lake Street Dive, Taylor Swift, X Ambassadors) and mastered by prolific Adam Ayan (Bruce Springsteen, Paul McCartney, Queen, Foo Fighters, Lettuce, Phish, etc.).
Related: Lyle Divinsky Shares Acoustic Performance Of “Risk It All” From Sugarshack Sessions [Watch]
Draped with weeping strands of pedal steel guitar, “Risk It All” begins with a decidedly “country-ballad” affect and continues down that stylistic path with the kind of evocative, lyrical content that long defined the genre. A layered web of harmonized Divinskys fill out the track’s Boyz II Men-like chorus, allowing Lyle’s soulful sound to move to the forefront and coaxing the song into an enveloping stylistic grey area as he bears his heart with unwavering certainty: “I ain’t a gambler, but I’d risk it all for you.”
Click below to read along with the lyrics to “Risk it All” by Lyle Divinsky while you listen to the new tune. Revisit chapter one of Seasons here.
Lyle Divinsky – “Risk it All”
Much like the personal themes explored on the four-part album, Divinsky’s career has been marked by distinct seasons. For five years, he made his living singing in New York City subways while he slowly crafted Uneven Floors. The album instantly created traction on a global scale, peaking at #2 on the U.K. Soul Charts and garnering radio play on four continents. Within weeks of Uneven Floors‘ 2015 release, he was called to action by beloved Colorado funk outfit The Motet to serve as the band’s new lead singer. The new gig brought Divinsky to some of the biggest stages and festivals in the country—with The Motet, he had gone from subways to stadiums, coffee shops to Red Rocks.
When the world shut down at the onset of the pandemic, Lyle, like everyone, underwent a moment of reflection. That process also inspired a prolific period of songwriting, though none of the new material quite fit the aesthetic of a 1970s-style funk band. After five years, two studio albums, two live albums, and over 600 shows with The Motet, Divisnky stepped away from the band in late 2020 to continue along the singer-songwriter path he had started walking on his own.
For more on Lyle Divinsky, follow him on social media or head to his website here. Keep an eye out for the next Seasons single from Lyle next month.
The post Lyle Divinsky Opens ‘Seasons’ Chapter 2 With Country-Soul Ballad “Risk It All” [Listen] appeared first on L4LM.
