The Nocturne Diaries

Editors’ Notes

Eliza Gilkyson stockpiled the songs that came to her in the middle of the night, which are often of a far dimmer tone than those she concocts during the day. Therefore, it’s no surprise when the tone that emanates track to track here is eerie and forlorn. Gilkyson understands the sublime beauty that's often captured in the darkest moments. Folk music itself is jammed with bloody deaths and floods that took everything in their wakes. She works wonders with the poet William Stafford’s lines and John Gorka’s music for “Where No Monument Stands,” about a field where no battle ever occurred. “No Tomorrow” is her “end times” love song. “An American Boy” speaks of unspeakable violence that lurks and is eventually actualized. Her father, legendary folk musician Terry Gilkyson, is paid tribute with a cover of his “Fast Freight,” once performed by The Kingston Trio and Tim Hardin. Eliza turns to the electric guitar for “The Red Rose and the Thorn” and is matched by The Faces’ Ian McLagan on Hammond B-3 for a stroke of musical light.