Other Lives – Mystic

Other Lives returns to their Oklahoma roots for ‘Mystic’, the opening salvo from their fifth album, Volume V. After years of wandering—from Stillwater to Portland and beyond—the band has circled back to where it all began. They recorded in The Sheerar, a former church turned into a history museum.

According to founding member Jonathon Mooney, the homecoming served as a sanctuary, though one wonders if that’s artistic retrospection or genuine relief at escaping the creative wilderness. Either way, ‘Mystic’ suggests the geographical shift has paid dividends.

Volume V marks another chapter in Other Lives’ ongoing evolution, featuring eight songs and two instrumentals that promise “fuller orchestrated reach and more towering drama”. The core trio of Jesse Tabish, Jonathon Mooney, and Josh Onstott remain the creative engine, though they’ve scattered across the continent – Jesse and wife Kim now in Cleveland, Jonathon in New York, Josh in Los Angeles.

The pandemic years saw the band members isolated, leading to Jesse’s solo venture, ‘Cowboy Ballads Part 1’, in 2022. Now reunited creatively, if not geographically, Other Lives channels that forced separation into what promises to be their most ambitious work yet. ‘Mystic’ hints at a group that’s found peace with its restless nature.

Set for October release via Play It Again Sam, ‘Volume V’ represents nearly two decades of artistic wandering.