Illiterate Light, Palmyra

×

Expand

Joey Wharton

The two members of Illiterate Light.

Illiterate Light

Illiterate Light is the alt rock duo of Jeff Gorman and Jake Cochran. The Richmond, Virginia, band is grounded in Americana — take their song “I wanna leave America (but I don’t know where to go),” in which vocalist Jeff Gorman practically channels Neil Young — but steers an alt-rock course on their latest album, Arches, released Nov. 1. Lively Virginia folk/bluegrass trio Palmyra opens.

media release: In advance of the November 1 release of their forthcoming album Arches via Thirty Tigers, the Richmond, VA-based duo Illiterate Light shared a new single, “All The Stars Are Burning Out,” which follows on the heels of previously released album highlights “Norfolk Southern” and “Payphone.”

Speaking on the song, its origins and themes, the band’s Jeff Gorman says “It’s a throwback song, about getting high, going for a drive, dreaming up your future. You’re looking at that wide open black sky of bright stars, and they’re so beautiful and inspiring, and they make you want to follow your dreams. And yet all those stars eventually burn out. It’s a song about going for it even though life is impermanent and full of change. We recorded it at Sunset Sound in the heart of LA. The contrast of Hollywood, a place where countless dreams are both realized and shattered, perfectly matched the essence of the song.”

Arches was recorded in two very different locations: small-town Appalachia at Gorman’s home studio and Hollywood, CA at Sunset Sound with producer Joe Chiccarelli (The Strokes, Beck, The Killers). “We wanted the best of both worlds,” says Gorman. “We spent several days with Joe at Sunset. To record vocals in the same live room as so many of my heroes—Neil Young, Paul McCartney, Dylan—was unreal. I knew I was in a holy place.” The LA session was paired with sessions in Virginia, where Gorman and Cochran co-produced the bulk of the record with longtime collaborator Danny Gibney. In their hometown, they experimented with soaring instrumental journeys and had friends sit in on the sessions to keep things lively.

“Having our community stop by the sessions kept us on our toes—we haven’t been able to do that in the past. It helped connect us to the feeling of our live show,” recalls Cochran. Illiterate Light’s live performances, described by the Washington Post as “massive,” feature Gorman on one foot, hammering bass on a foot-pedal synth, shredding big guitar riffs, and spitting out song after song while Cochran matches Gorman harmony for harmony, dancing with his standing drum kit, teetering on the edge of the stage only to dive head first into his next solo.

Arches is the closest you can get to their live show, with heavier songs like “I Ride Alone” and “Bloodlines” encapsulating the best of the writhing, uninhibited front-row experience. The keystone of the album, “Norfolk Southern,” crashes in with Gorman belting, “Here comes the Norfolk Southern / It's off the tracks / and heading for you,” with Cochran chanting, “break, break, break, break” to the ghost of the train that derailed in 2023 in East Palestine, Ohio, releasing 10,000 gallons of hazardous materials into the atmosphere. The song also serves as a metaphor for Gorman’s own turbulent feelings. “I certainly wanted to shine a light on the environmental catastrophe. But strangely, some days I feel just like that Norfolk Southern, barreling out of control at warp speed.”\

The band’s Jeff Gorman and Jake Cochran are more than just a couple of musicians, they're also a hard-working team of artists, road warriors, moved by a DIY-ethos and a uniquely Southern drive to create, innovate and experiment. In 2023, the band released an EP called Aloe, a follow-up to the album they released earlier in the year, Sunburned. The Aloe EP's singles included “Always Always” and “Don't Settle Down,” and previously released singles from the Sunburned album include “Hellraiser,” “Fuck LA,” “Feb 1st,” “Heaven Bends” and “Light Me Up.”

“​The Virginia-based duo has an ambition that is promising at a time when rock needs it.” - SPIN

“...they are striking in performance…” - NPR

“...feel free to crank this one up in your speakers...” - Consequence

“...absolute geniuses…” - Under the Radar

“...very specific sound as a band: Massive.” - Washington Post