New EP · September 2026
Lost You
Five songs James wrote to process after he and his spouse went through a pregnancy loss. One of them is left without words, for you to write and have space to process.
- Best Kept Secret
Lyrics
Helicopter seeds in an envelope Letter from Portland, I almost choked Egg yolk sketched out jokes Honestly, your Sistine Michelangelo You dreamt I was dying of heatstroke 300 square feet down in San Diego Don't know how I got so lucky Zion, dandelion ring, on one knee Blades of sweet grass spun throughout your iris Best kept secret until sunlight shines on honeycomb and chocolate Richest life springs up from that earth Freckled high cheekbones, I'll kiss them till I turned back to dirt I almost lost you last June I can still smell that room Clean gown and an empty tummy Trying to avoid the pain with gin rummy Now watermelons not the same May comes with the taste of our would have been baby's name Mother's Day hits different Not quite what we dreamt Still there's Blades of sweet grass spun throughout your iris Best kept secret until sunlight shines on honeycomb and chocolate Richest life springs up from that earth Freckled high cheekbones, I'll kiss them till I turned back to dirtCredits
James Spaite: songwriting, vocals, nylon guitar, nashville guitar, percussion, whistle, sound design, saxophone, felted piano, engineering, and mixing (only on Make it to the Party). Caleb Parker: mixing.About this song
- Lost You
Lyrics
Lost you at two Lost you at three Lost you at nine Lost you at seventeen Lost watching you tie your shoes Lost teaching you to climb trees Lost comforting your first heart break Lost you holding my hand losing me Now some days are red Some days are blue Most days Come in colors more than two Most days lately My body feels confused To say the least It's new here without youCredits
James Spaite: songwriting, vocals, nylon guitar, nashville guitar, percussion, whistle, sound design, saxophone, felted piano, engineering, and mixing (only on Make it to the Party). Caleb Parker: mixing.About this song
- Lost You (for you to write)The instrumental. Put your own words to it, if you like.
Lyrics
Credits
James Spaite: songwriting, vocals, nylon guitar, nashville guitar, percussion, whistle, sound design, saxophone, felted piano, engineering, and mixing (only on Make it to the Party). Caleb Parker: mixing.About this song
- The Life I Had Imagined
Lyrics
Credits
James Spaite: songwriting, vocals, nylon guitar, nashville guitar, percussion, whistle, sound design, saxophone, felted piano, engineering, and mixing (only on Make it to the Party). Caleb Parker: mixing.About this song
- Make It to the Party
Lyrics
If I could go back a year and 10 days, I would find myself and try to explain I know you think it's going to be XY I mean she's been so sick. Isn't that supposed to be a sign? and I know you've thought about nicknames maybe her grandma's name sake maybe Spanish for James I would say just keep in mind that sometimes we can't make it to the party If I could go back to yesterday, I would visit room 426 just to say it's OK to weep when a tree's blossom dies fruit that could've been never made it to the light and I would hold you tight all over again, relive the agony twice just to hold my best friend I would say "it's not all right. It's just sometimes we can't make it to the party." Somewhere out there in the world of possibilities there is a you that came to be and instead outlived me You're remembering back on how I taught you to climb trees, how to braid your hair, to look both ways than safely across the street And I'm sure we would have had a real good time. I don't blame you, little love. No, it's all right. I know some nights around 5 PM The realization starts to settle in that you've been through the wringer lately kid and you're just worn too thin to make it to the partyCredits
James Spaite: songwriting, vocals, nylon guitar, nashville guitar, percussion, whistle, sound design, saxophone, felted piano, engineering, and mixing (only on Make it to the Party). Caleb Parker: mixing.About this song
Notes, lyrics and credits are on the EP page.
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Also this year
Separated
His third album. Six years in the making, ten songs about losing God like waking up one day without any bones in your body or the way you might lose a best friend. A string quintet opens it with the Dies Irae, played forwards and then backwards.
Live
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