At the beginning of the month, Logan Lynn released his first new music since 2012 in the form of two songs from his upcoming album. Due out in 2015, "We Will Overcome" is the first single from the as-yet-untitled eighth studio album. And now, on the last day of September, Lynn is exclusively unveiling the song's video with Vortex.
A glimpse into Lynn's Southern pentecostal roots, the video compiles recently unearthed family videos filmed by his uncle alongside studio footage of Lynn dressed in religious "cult leader garb" and was directed by Andrew Carreon.
The actual son of a preacher raised in rural Nebraska who recognized his homosexuality at age 14, Lynn's new material sees him moving away from a self-proclaimed "emotronic" sound towards something more mature and organic, yet undeniably poppy. Reflective and religiously infused, both song and video feel grainy as Lynn relives past lives and loves through an older, more contemplative eye.
"I wanted to reclaim my heritage and experiences growing up in the church, so our new live show and the video reflect that. I'm going for Fred Phelps realness—snake handling on stage, speaking in tongues—the whole bit. It's a really wild spectacle," Lynn explains. "The kids stuck in the Bible Belt ate it up on tour this summer."
Produced by longtime collaborator Gino Mari, "We Will Overcome" features a tinge of country twang—thanks to the full instrumentation of Mari's guitar and keys alongside video director Carreon's drums—as it builds to a repetitive chant. And as the song gaspingly climaxes, you feel a sense of relief, some closure, as it fades out—which is exactly what a more mature Lynn is experiencing in his own life:
“I wrote ‘We Will Overcome’ as my relationship was ending. I had my heart broken earlier this year, and it felt like these dreams I had for a life and family with this person were just ripped from me. (Dramatic sounding, I know—but it really did feel that way.) I started thinking about how this feeling was something of a pattern in my life and began tracing it back to its beginning, which is my experience in the church as a child. I think the song is about letting go, surviving—living through things that, at times, feel impossible to surmount. Love is a hard thing to lose, and in some ways, you never get over it. I have been grieving that loss, and this song is a mantra for me, both in my personal life and in my experience as someone who is part of a marginalized community. I really do believe that I, that we, will win this battle… whatever it is.”
If you need this mantra in your own life, download "We Will Overcome" below and add it to your personal playlist.
