Ploughing a different furrow, Steve Von Till’s Alone in a World of Wounds is a collection of sweeping gothic tinged Americana and beautiful world weary vocal melodies. Album opener “The Corpse Road” unfolds with mauve, drone textures, immediately placing listeners in the creaking, dust enfolded wilderness. Von Till sings of being placed in the …solitude of our inner spaces as the French horn – that most mournful of instruments – is deployed with subtle majesty, alongside beautifully subtle cello arrangements by Brent Arnold. “The Corpse Road” is available today alongside a video created by Josh Graham.
Initially inspired by the harmonic resonance of piano and synths and his long standing love of ambient music, Alone in a World of Wounds follows 2021’s No Wilderness Deep Enough in reflective ambience. Opening up his voice in ways he has never done before, the album’s genesis came via intuitive improvisations. “The complex overtones of upright piano and synthesisers really inspired me to sing out more, to seek out the implied harmonies, and to find unique approaches within the limitations of my voice.” says Von Till.
Aside from music, Von Till is a poet (he published his first collection – Harvestman – in 2021) and has a deep bank of poetry and wider writing that he draws on, frequently reflecting on our place within the universe while leaning into themes of loss and longing. Likewise, it is our place in nature and – crucially – our current disconnect from it that prove key to the sonic tapestry woven on Alone in a World of Wounds. The album title itself was inspired by a quote from forester and environmental philosopher Aldo Leopold from his 1949 book A Sand County Almanac, which called for a reimagining of the relationship between people and the natural world (‘one of the penalties of an ecological educations is that one lives alone in a world of wounds’), while – outside of music – Von Till remains equally committed to education (he has been an elementary school teacher for 24 years and also serves on the board of directors for the Firekeeper Alliance non-profit which is committed to reducing suicides among the youth of the Blackfeet Nation in Montana).
While Alone in a World of Wounds may be far removed from the caustic aggression of Neurosis, make no mistake – the life-giving energy of punk rock and DIY ethic continue to provide deep inspiration and grounding to him. The search for deeper connection, living with the sorrow of our separation from the natural world, and relying on gut level instinct to get closer to the primal creative state are all key to Von Till’s process.
“It is the transcendent nature of music, the cathartic healing process where I can leave everything behind and become one with sound. When you allow yourself to go beyond the ordinary you might be fortunate enough to find a moment where you are creating in alignment with the flow of the river of the universe.”
Recorded mostly at his barn studio at home in Idaho and mixed at Circular Ruin in Brooklyn, NY, with storied producer Randall Dunn (Jóhann Jóhannsson, Sunn O))), Earth, Jim Jarmusch), Alone in a World of Wounds also boasts cover artwork from Spokane, WA based alternative process photographer Brian Deemy – who works with colloidal wet plate ‘tintype’ aesthetics, which compliment Von Till’s uniquely ancient yet grounded aesthetic, and one that perfectly matches his desire to reimagine the connection between the human and the more than human world.
Steve Von Till will perform at Roadburn 2025 (Tilburg) next week and at Prepare The Ground (Toronto) and Fire in the Mountains (Blackfeet Nation) festivals this summer. Tickets and more information are available here – stay tuned for additional North American dates.
