“Brings me to tears. One of my favorite albums ever,” posts fan of The March Divide. Jared Putnam builds global following from fans like this, one at a time.

“It means the world to connect so strongly with so many people,” Putnam says. See lyric video for Lost Causes album closer “This World Is Gonna End” now.
 
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Jared Putnam of The March Divide as photographed by Short Eared Dog Photography.

 
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PLAY, POST & SHARE
 
The March Divide | “This World Is Gonna End”
  

[VIDEO]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIfr2RMHhg8
 
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 “‘This World Is Gonna End’ is a birthday gift for my wife,” says Jared Putnam of The March Divide about the closing track from his latest album Lost Causes, out now. Watch the lyric video for the song here. Putnam jokes, “I also bought her stuff. I’m not that cheap!”
 
About the song itself, he explains, “I initially recorded a piano track, but my producer, Mike Major, felt it was too dark, so we replaced it with the more light hearted Wurlitzer part throughout. I was perfectly happy with my original piano part, but without Mike giving his input, this song wouldn’t carry any of the stand out quality I think it does today. The collaboration throughout Lost Causes is really what sets it apart.”
 
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The March Divide
Lost Causes
(Slow Start Records)
Out Now
 
Streaming Link:
STREAM FULL LP
 

Track Listing:
 
01. I Wanna Hate You (STREAM)
02. Tension in the Air (STREAM | VIDEO)
03. I’m Not Perfect (STREAM | VIDEO)
04. Dover Cir (VIDEO)
05. Corduroy
06. Giving Up
07. Virginia (STREAM)
08. Mont Del Dr (VIDEO)
09. King of The Lost Cause (STREAM)
10. This World is Gonna End (LYRIC VIDEO)
 
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PLAY, POST & SHARE
 

 
The March Divide | “Tension In The Air”
 

[VIDEO]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfiAVLf9_nU
 
“Putnam’s urgent melodies, wrapped in just-slick-enough production, draw you in and keep you there. “‘Tension In The Air’ is one of The March Divide’s best examples of this trick to date.” – The Big Takeover
 
About the music video for the song, recently premiered by Dallas NPR-affiliate KXT, Putnam says, “The song is about needing a break from the mundane. We all have our own thing,  and life can become mundane for a lot of reasons. So, we made a video about what that break might look like if you’re a puppet with no morals or self-control!”
 
Hector Gallardo of Subharmonic City Productions, the director of the clip, and de facto puppeteer explains, “This puppet is inspired by the movie ‘Labrynth,’ and was made by a group of very talented artists here in El Paso, Texas.”
 
Gallardo continues, “Growing up with ‘Sesame Street’ and ‘Fraggle Rock,’ I always loved what they did with these puppets, but until I did this myself, I always took for granted what goes into making those shows. Some of these shots are honestly torturous. You have to really contort your body to not end up in the shot!”
 
“In the scene with the band, everyone at the bar was super happy to meet and party with the puppet. They kept asking what his name was and I realized we never gave him one. That night, he was forever known as Maurice.”
 
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The March Divide | Live
 
06/17/2022: Fort Stockton, TX @ Zero Stone Park
06/23/2022: San Antonio, TX @ Fralo’s
06/24/2022: Fort Stockton, TX @ The Old ‘76
06/25/2022: Clovis, NM @ Red Door Brewing
07/01/2022: Plano, TX @ Terra Mediterranean
07/07/2022: San Antonio, TX @ Fralo’s
07/08/2022: Boerne, TX @ Gather Boerne
07/09/2022: Cibolo, TX @ 1908 House of Wine & Ale
07/16/2022: Plano, TX @ Terra Mediterranean
07/21/2022: Wichita Falls @ The High Dive
07/22/2022: Tyler, TX @ ETX Brewing
08/20/2022: Plano, TX @ Terra Mediterranean
08/23/2022: Red River, NM @ Noisy Water Winery
08/24/2022: Albuquerque, NM @ Noisy Water Winery
08/25/2022: Santa Fe, NM @ The Cowgirl BBQ
08/26/2022: Ruidoso, NM @ The Cellar Uncorked
08/27/2022: Alamogordo, NM @ 575 Brewing
08/28/2022: Cloudcroft, NM @ Cloudcroft Brewing
08/31/2022: Clovis, NM @ Bandolero Brewing
09/01/2022: Albuquerque, NM @ Rio Bravo Brewing
09/02/2022: Alto, NM @ Enchanted Vine
09/03/2022: Ruidoso, NM @ Lost Hiker Brewing
09/04/2022: Las Cruces, NM @ T or T Brewing
10/07/2022: Corpus Christi, TX @ Art Walk
10/08/2022: Cibolo, TX @ 1908 House of Wine & Ale
10/10/2022: San Antonio, TX @ Sternewirth Sessions (Emma Hotel)
10/14/2022: Plano, TX @ Terra Mediterranean
10/22/2022: Plano, TX @ Terra Mediterranean
11/18/2022: San Antonio, TX @ The Point Park
11/19/2022: Cibolo, TX @ 1908 House of Wine & Ale

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The March Divide | “I’m Not Perfect”
 

[VIDEO]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ougIiJ1TFmA
 
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“An open nod to the 1990s rock that was on the radio a lot after Kurt Cobain died, but it doesn’t sound like a retread. It sounds inspired.” – Central Track
 
“When it came to making the video for ‘I’m Not Perfect,’ I’ve always enjoyed working with Hector Gallardo of Subharmonic City Productions,” says Jared Putnam of The March Divide about the video for the first single from his upcoming sixth album, Lost Causes (June 10, Slow Start Records). “If a song brings out a tough memory or emotion that you’re just not ready to deal with, Hector can put visuals to it that will make you look and keep you from turning away.”
 
See the “I’m Not Perfect” video via Ghettoblaster Magazine here.
 
Texas-based music discovery website Central Track says of the song, “Fort Worth-based Jared Putnam has a soft spot for ‘90s pop rock. ‘I’m Not Perfect’ might be an open nod to the 1990s rock that was on the radio a lot after Kurt Cobain died, but it doesn’t sound like a retread. Compare it with songs from August and Everything After (Counting Crows) or New Miserable Experience (Gin Blossoms) and it sounds inspired, but not taking direct lifts from those records.”
 
Putnam elaborates, saying, “I’m Not Perfect” came out completely different than I had initially imagined. Writing sad songs about loneliness comes very naturally to me and this song was an idea that would check that box. When my producer, Mike Major listened to my rough demo, he heard it as a full-on rock song. It wasn’t until I heard the bass and drums that I realized I wasn’t seeing the forest for the trees. Something that was so obvious to everyone, but had been hiding behind in the blind spot of my comfort zone.”
 
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The March Divide | About
 

 
I wanna hate you. I’m not perfect. Giving up. King of the lost cause. This world is gonna end.
 
Jared Putnam is a funny guy. No, really, he is. Don’t let the negative words above, which comprise five of the ten song titles on Lost Causes (oops, he did it again!), Putnam’s sixth album as The March Divide, fool you.
 
Being able to laugh at yourself is one of the tenants of comedy and Putnam’s greatest strength has always been to take his everyman, self-effacing character and wrap it in urgent melodies backed by just-slick-enough production to draw you in and keep you there.
 
It’s why over the years music critics have called his songs “impressively hooky” (American Songwriter) with “classic pop hooks” (The Big Takeover) where his “pop sensibility comes entirely to the forefront” (Under The Radar).
 
As a next-door neighbor who you would actually like to know, Putnam doesn’t try to overstay his welcome, either. Even though he is a prolific songwriter, after the release of his appropriately titled fifth album cinc in April of 2021, he figured he was tapped out of ideas for a while.
 
Instead, he started making the best distillation of his talents to date. As Putnam tells it, inspiration returned as he was just out doing Dad stuff.
 
“I was driving my kid to school and Gin Blossoms came on the radio. I’m a forever fan of Gin Blossoms, but this was ‘Hey Jealousy,’ which commercial radio has been running into the ground for 30 years.
 
“But in that moment, it was the greatest thing I’d ever heard! The hooks, the subject matter, and all the rest were as they’d always been, but I was struck by how it was put together. In that moment, that’s what made the song great.”
 
Putnam has spent years deconstructing pop songs in an attempt to discover the formula. This “Hey Jealousy” epiphany may have been destined, because the blueprint of the connection Putnam realized while just doing Daddy duty allowed him to build Lost Causes.
 
“I’ve always been fascinated with dissecting what makes a song great and trying to find the catalyst for the chemical reaction that emotionally connects us to where a handful of tunes are run into the ground for 30 years,” he says of the rarefied air that a timeless hit song occupies.
 
Joining Putnam under The March Divide banner for Lost Causes are friends Ernie Garcia (long-time player with El Vez and Javier Escovedo) on bass and Jason West on drums.
 
“Our mutual love of Cheap Trick has always made Jason the perfect drummer for my songs,” Putnam says. Lost Causes was mixed and mastered by Mike Major (At The Drive-In, Coheed and Cambria.)
 
“Mike also produced a lot of great bands around the southwest,” Putnam explains. “It wasn’t lost on me that Gin Blossoms are from Tempe and have a very staple southwestern sound. Mike knew what I was going for.”
 
Lyrically, the songs on Lost Causes pick up where the last single from Putnam’s previous album left off. At the time, he had started to write in a more stream of consciousness style, even making a promise to himself not to change his words.
 
“It’s pretty satisfying to just say what you want to say, without worrying about how cool it sounds,” he said at the time.
 
This is why Putnam’s humor shines brighter than ever on Lost Causes.
 
I wanna hate you. I’m not perfect. Giving up. King of the lost cause. This world is gonna end.
 
We have all felt these things, but putting them in song, or voicing them at all could seem whiney or at least cynical and pessimistic.
 
Not so, with Putnam, who has become a master of this somewhat sarcastic craft. Instead, these songs are relatable confessions in a candy coating.
 
“Writing sad songs about utter loneliness comes very naturally to me,” he says. “These kinds of songs are very therapeutic for me to write.”
 
These sad songs are the ones that most connect with Putnam’s growing audience, especially those overseas that have propelled tunes such as his 2019 release “Secrets,” to just-shy of a million Spotify spins.
 
“I’m Not Perfect,” the first single from Lost Causes, started out as one of these “downer” tunes, but in sharing his early demo with his collaborators, Putnam was pushed to make it more, while keeping what makes it The March Divide. The tune opens Lost Causes and is a total success.
 
“Even though writing these types of songs is therapeutic for me, it’s also a rut,” Putnam says. “Emotionally, I got so much more out of working on ‘I’m Not Perfect’ by working with others. I’m hopeful that the fans who crave these songs from me will too. Maybe we can all get out of our sad bastard rut together.”
 
He’s a funny guy.
 
Lost Causes, the sixth album by The March Divide, is out now via Slow Start Records. Jared Putnam of The March Divide is available for interviews. Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic for more information.
 
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The March Divide | Links
 
ASSETS : WEBSITE : FACEBOOK : TWITTER : INSTAGRAM : YOUTUBE : BANDCAMP : SPOTIFY : APPLE : SLOW START RECORDS
 
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Josh Bloom at Fanatic Promotion | Contact
 
WEBSITE : FACEBOOK : TWITTER : INSTAGRAM : YOUTUBE : SOUNDCLOUD : SPOTIFY : BLOG : E-MAIL

Caitlin Cobb-Vialet to perform this week in support of “Endless Void,” a “surprisingly poised, brutally honest debut that blows by in just 26 minutes.”

 Hear album opener’s immediately intimate two-minute mission statement “Not Enough;” See stylish video for Cobb-Vialet’s emotional signature song “Disco Ball” now.
   
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Caitlin Cobb-Vialet as photographed by Dawn Lu
 
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PLAY, POST & SHARE
 
Caitlin Cobb-Vialet | “Disco Ball”
 

 

[VIDEO]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibY8pgCFvkA
 
[STREAM]: https://fanatic.lnk.to/CaitlinCobbVialet-DiscoBall
  
In its coverage of Cobb-Vialet’s signature song “Disco Ball,” Glide Magazine says: “There is a Regina Spektor-type intimacy and honesty that pours out of ‘Disco Ball…’ that reveals a young artist able to remain composed while being vulnerable.”
 
“A voice that’s as malleable and conversational as it is riveting and unconventional,” says MAGNET. Check out more from MAGNET in Hobart Rowland’s interview with the 25-year-old Oakland-based actor, pianist, and songwriter, Caitlin Cobb-Vialet here.
 
Bay-area weekly East Bay Express says that Cobb-Vialet is “investigating love and loss with a heart full of song,” in the headline of its recent feature story. Read the full article here.
 
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Caitlin Cobb-Vialet | In Concert
 

 
06/16/2022: Santa Rosa, CA @ The Lost Church (TLC Song Service w/ Doctur Crow, Nicco Weisskoff) (Tickets)
 
06/17/2022: Oakland, CA @ The Sunshine Prophecy (Claire Pupo “Persephone” Art Show w/ Laurel Hannah, Nightjars)
 
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Caitlin Cobb-Vialet
Endless Void
(War Chant Records)
Out Now
 
Streaming Link:
STREAM FULL LP
  

Track Listing:

 
01. Not Enough (STREAM)
02. Joan To Catherine (STREAM | VIDEO)
03. Ask Me (STREAM | VIDEO)
04. The Reference
05. Collared Shirts
06. You Don’t Try
07. Useless
08. Disco Ball (STREAM | VIDEO)
09. What’s It With You?
10. Float
 
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Caitlin Cobb-Vialet | “Not Enough”
 

[STREAM]: https://Fanatic.lnk.to/CaitlinCobbVialet-NotEnough
 
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“I’m moving to Oregon / With Noah forever / I’ll see you on Facebook / Or maybe I’ll mute you / Whatever”
 
When Caitlin Cobb-Vialet sits down at her grand piano in San Francisco, it feels like you are sitting on the bench right next to her. The young songwriter and multi-instrumentalist creates immediate intimacy in the opening moments of her debut album Endless Void, out now via War Chant Records. The songs are often fleeting (“Not Enough” clocks at a slim two minutes), but it doesn’t matter; Cobb-Vialet imparts so much feeling in such a small amount of time.
 
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PLAY, POST & SHARE
 
Caitlin Cobb-Vialet | “Ask Me”
 

 

[VIDEO]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9WUSpY83mI
 
[STREAM]: https://fanatic.lnk.to/CaitlinCobbVialet-AskMe
 
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“There is something disarmingly real and genuine with her approach to the craft.” — SF Weekly
 
“The song finds Caitlin at her beloved piano, reminiscent of early Regina Spektor, as she plucks out rich chords to accompany her soaring, heartfelt vocals,” says music discovery site For The Rabbits in its premiere coverage of the music video of “Ask Me,” the new single by Caitlin Cobb-Vialet. “That feeling of closeness, described beautifully throughout the track... is punctuated by the feeling that this love is ultimately fleeting.”
 
“‘Ask Me’ is a song I wrote inspired by the newfound feeling of safeness and understanding that I felt in my first queer relationship,” Caitlin Cobb-Vialet tells Adobe & Teardrops. “At the end of the song, I come to the realization that ‘even in love you’re still alone,’ alluding to the temporary nature of even powerful love.”
 
Americana UK states that the song “feels immediately familiar. A gorgeously tuneful but conversational style that feels like she is baring her soul to you.”
 
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Caitlin Cobb-Vialet | About
 

 
When Caitlin Cobb-Vialet sits down at her grand piano in San Francisco, it feels like you are sitting on the bench right next to her. The young songwriter and multi-instrumentalist creates immediate intimacy in the opening moments of her upcoming debut album Endless Void, out now via War Chant Records. The songs are often fleeting (album opener “Not Enough” clocking at a slim two minutes, for example), but it doesn’t matter; Cobb-Vialet imparts so much feeling in such a small amount of time.
 
Discovered by visionary bay area producer, Jim Greer (credits include Foster The People, Macy Gray, Angelo Moore of Fishbone), Cobb-Vialet is, actually and truly, a discovery. It even feels like the songs must have been hidden from the songwriter herself, only being recognized and realized as they are being performed.
 
Cobb-Vialet’s studies at the Playwrights Horizons Theater School at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts could have something to do with the dramatic effect of that.
 
“The studio encouraged me to be a well-rounded artist who could write, direct, design, as well as act,” Cobb-Vialet explains.
 
Immersed in what she describes as the “busy-ness” of college, performing and composing as part of several productions at once, Cobb-Vialet’s musical theater background and love of the abstract art that she was exposed to in downtown NYC provided the experiences that she had been readied for as a child brought up in a progressive, blended home.
 
“I was raised by four moms,” she explains. “I had two moms, and then when I was in the fifth grade, they separated and partnered with two moms of kids at my school. So I have two moms, two step-moms, my brother, and six step-siblings who I’ve known since elementary school.”
 
As the oldest child, Cobb-Vialet was bound to be looked to in the household as an example (many of her siblings are also in the arts), but her insights hit home outside of her literal home, too.
 
Especially with Greer, who is effusive about their work together.
 
“At our first meeting, she played me a few songs, and right away I heard shades of so many songwriters I’ve always been a fan of,” he remembers. “Bits of Freddie Mercury, Kate Bush, David Bowie, Regina Spektor – the kind of artists that make their own universe and communicate wide swaths of emotion and beauty.”
 
Accessing for herself these timeless artist’s knack for accessibility is part of the inherent potential Cobb-Vialet’s songs have to connect and convey a unique young life that, even now, isn’t often represented.
 
“Besides love and heartbreak, these songs also explore queerness, consent, mental illness, friendship, and coming of age,” she says. “As an artist I would say I am non-linear, emotional, brutally honest, and relentless.”
 
The fleeting intimacy that takes place at the bench of Cobb-Vialet’s grand piano... It is quite grand indeed.
 
Endless Void, the debut album by Caitlin Cobb-Vialet, is out now via War Chant Records.
 
Caitlin Cobb-Vialet is available for interviews. Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic for more information.
 
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Caitlin Cobb-Vialet | Links
 
ASSETS : INSTAGRAM : FACEBOOK : YOUTUBE : BANDCAMP : SPOTIFY : APPLE
 
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Josh Bloom at Fanatic Promotion | Contact
 
WEBSITE : FACEBOOK : TWITTER : INSTAGRAM : YOUTUBE : SOUNDCLOUD : SPOTIFY : BLOG : E-MAIL

Jared Putnam of The March Divide was just out doing daddy duty when he was inspired to start making his decidedly 90s rock album “Lost Causes,” out today.

 Called “One of the most important Texas musicians you may have never heard of,” Putnam engages fans of  Sunny Day Real Estate, Sparklehorse, Jimmy Eat World.
 
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Jared Putnam of The March Divide as photographed by Short Eared Dog Photography.
 
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The March Divide | “Tension In The Air”
 

 

[VIDEO]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfiAVLf9_nU
  
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“Putnam’s urgent melodies, wrapped in just-slick-enough production, draw you in and keep you there. “‘Tension In The Air’ is one of The March Divide’s best examples of this trick to date.” – The Big Takeover
 
About the music video for the song, recently premiered by Dallas NPR-affiliate KXT, Putnam says, “The song is about needing a break from the mundane. We all have our own thing,  and life can become mundane for a lot of reasons. So, we made a video about what that break might look like if you’re a puppet with no morals or self-control!”
 
Hector Gallardo of Subharmonic City Productions, the director of the clip, and de facto puppeteer explains, “This puppet is inspired by the movie ‘Labrynth,’ and was made by a group of very talented artists here in El Paso, Texas.”
 
Gallardo continues, “Growing up with ‘Sesame Street’ and ‘Fraggle Rock,’ I always loved what they did with these puppets, but until I did this myself, I always took for granted what goes into making those shows. Some of these shots are honestly torturous. You have to really contort your body to not end up in the shot!”
 
“In the scene with the band, everyone at the bar was super happy to meet and party with the puppet. They kept asking what his name was and I realized we never gave him one. That night, he was forever known as Maurice.”
 
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Stream all of Lost Causes by The March Divide now at Nanobot Rock via its premiere coverage of the album, which calls Putnam, “One of the most important Texas musicians you may have never heard of,” and continues on to say, “Throughout the record an air of throwback feeling melodies pair with optimistic instrumental backing to take The March Divide’s cathartic honesty and make it feel more present than ever.

“There are lingering 90s fades subtly dropped amongst the intentional mindfulness Putnam has achieved record after record. Ten years and six albums deep, Lost Causes confidently extinguishes any notions of complacency from The March Divide.”
 
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The March Divide | In The Press
 

“Impressively hooky.” — American Songwriter
 
“Relentlessly catchy.” — Under The Radar
 
“Bittersweet beauty.” — Impose
 
“Putnam’s vocals pop.” — PopMatters
 
“Hits the mark again and again.” — The Big Takeover
 
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The March Divide
Lost Causes
(Slow Start Records)
June 10, 2022
 
Streaming Link:
STREAM FULL LP
 

Track Listing:
 
01. I Wanna Hate You (STREAM)
02. Tension in the Air (STREAM | VIDEO)
03. I’m Not Perfect (STREAM | VIDEO)
04. Dover Cir (VIDEO)
05. Corduroy
06. Giving Up
07. Virginia (STREAM)
08. Mont Del Dr (VIDEO)
09. King of The Lost Cause (STREAM)
10. This World is Gonna End
 
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The March Divide | Live
 
06/10/2022: Plano, TX @ Terra Mediterranean
06/11/2022: San Antonio, TX @ The Point Park
06/17/2022: Fort Stockton, TX @ Zero Stone Park
06/23/2022: San Antonio, TX @ Fralo’s
06/24/2022: Fort Stockton, TX @ The Old ‘76
06/25/2022: Clovis, NM @ Red Door Brewing
07/01/2022: Plano, TX @ Terra Mediterranean
07/07/2022: San Antonio, TX @ Fralo’s
07/08/2022: Boerne, TX @ Gather Boerne
07/09/2022: Cibolo, TX @ 1908 House of Wine & Ale
07/16/2022: Plano, TX @ Terra Mediterranean
07/21/2022: Wichita Falls @ The High Dive
07/22/2022: Tyler, TX @ ETX Brewing
08/20/2022: Plano, TX @ Terra Mediterranean
08/23/2022: Red River, NM @ Noisy Water Winery
08/24/2022: Albuquerque, NM @ Noisy Water Winery
08/25/2022: Santa Fe, NM @ The Cowgirl BBQ
08/26/2022: Ruidoso, NM @ The Cellar Uncorked
08/27/2022: Alamogordo, NM @ 575 Brewing
08/28/2022: Cloudcroft, NM @ Cloudcroft Brewing
08/31/2022: Clovis, NM @ Bandolero Brewing
09/02/2022: Alto, NM @ Enchanted Vine
09/03/2022: Ruidoso, NM @ Lost Hiker Brewing
09/04/2022: Las Cruces, NM @ T or T Brewing
 
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PLAY, POST & SHARE
 
The March Divide | “I’m Not Perfect”
 

  

[VIDEO]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ougIiJ1TFmA
  
+++
 
“An open nod to the 1990s rock that was on the radio a lot after Kurt Cobain died, but it doesn’t sound like a retread. It sounds inspired.” – Central Track
 
“When it came to making the video for ‘I’m Not Perfect,’ I’ve always enjoyed working with Hector Gallardo of Subharmonic City Productions,” says Jared Putnam of The March Divide about the video for the first single from his upcoming sixth album, Lost Causes (June 10, Slow Start Records). “If a song brings out a tough memory or emotion that you’re just not ready to deal with, Hector can put visuals to it that will make you look and keep you from turning away.”
 
See the “I’m Not Perfect” video via Ghettoblaster Magazine here.
 
Texas-based music discovery website Central Track says of the song, “Fort Worth-based Jared Putnam has a soft spot for ‘90s pop rock. ‘I’m Not Perfect’ might be an open nod to the 1990s rock that was on the radio a lot after Kurt Cobain died, but it doesn’t sound like a retread. Compare it with songs from August and Everything After (Counting Crows) or New Miserable Experience (Gin Blossoms) and it sounds inspired, but not taking direct lifts from those records.”
 
Putnam elaborates, saying, “I’m Not Perfect” came out completely different than I had initially imagined. Writing sad songs about loneliness comes very naturally to me and this song was an idea that would check that box. When my producer, Mike Major listened to my rough demo, he heard it as a full-on rock song. It wasn’t until I heard the bass and drums that I realized I wasn’t seeing the forest for the trees. Something that was so obvious to everyone, but had been hiding behind in the blind spot of my comfort zone.”
 
+++
 
The March Divide | About
 

I wanna hate you. I’m not perfect. Giving up. King of the lost cause. This world is gonna end.
 
Jared Putnam is a funny guy. No, really, he is. Don’t let the negative words above, which comprise five of the ten song titles on Lost Causes (oops, he did it again!), Putnam’s sixth album as The March Divide, fool you.
 
Being able to laugh at yourself is one of the tenants of comedy and Putnam’s greatest strength has always been to take his everyman, self-effacing character and wrap it in urgent melodies backed by just-slick-enough production to draw you in and keep you there.
 
It’s why over the years music critics have called his songs “impressively hooky” (American Songwriter) with “classic pop hooks” (The Big Takeover) where his “pop sensibility comes entirely to the forefront” (Under The Radar).
 
As a next-door neighbor who you would actually like to know, Putnam doesn’t try to overstay his welcome, either. Even though he is a prolific songwriter, after the release of his appropriately titled fifth album cinc in April of 2021, he figured he was tapped out of ideas for a while.
 
Instead, he started making the best distillation of his talents to date. As Putnam tells it, inspiration returned as he was just out doing Dad stuff.
 
“I was driving my kid to school and Gin Blossoms came on the radio. I’m a forever fan of Gin Blossoms, but this was ‘Hey Jealousy,’ which commercial radio has been running into the ground for 30 years.
 
“But in that moment, it was the greatest thing I’d ever heard! The hooks, the subject matter, and all the rest were as they’d always been, but I was struck by how it was put together. In that moment, that’s what made the song great.”
 
Putnam has spent years deconstructing pop songs in an attempt to discover the formula. This “Hey Jealousy” epiphany may have been destined, because the blueprint of the connection Putnam realized while just doing Daddy duty allowed him to build Lost Causes.
 
“I’ve always been fascinated with dissecting what makes a song great and trying to find the catalyst for the chemical reaction that emotionally connects us to where a handful of tunes are run into the ground for 30 years,” he says of the rarefied air that a timeless hit song occupies.
 
Joining Putnam under The March Divide banner for Lost Causes are friends Ernie Garcia (long-time player with El Vez and Javier Escovedo) on bass and Jason West on drums.
 
“Our mutual love of Cheap Trick has always made Jason the perfect drummer for my songs,” Putnam says. Lost Causes was mixed and mastered by Mike Major (At The Drive-In, Coheed and Cambria.)
 
“Mike also produced a lot of great bands around the southwest,” Putnam explains. “It wasn’t lost on me that Gin Blossoms are from Tempe and have a very staple southwestern sound. Mike knew what I was going for.”
 
Lyrically, the songs on Lost Causes pick up where the last single from Putnam’s previous album left off. At the time, he had started to write in a more stream of consciousness style, even making a promise to himself not to change his words.
 
“It’s pretty satisfying to just say what you want to say, without worrying about how cool it sounds,” he said at the time.
 
This is why Putnam’s humor shines brighter than ever on Lost Causes.
 
I wanna hate you. I’m not perfect. Giving up. King of the lost cause. This world is gonna end.
 
We have all felt these things, but putting them in song, or voicing them at all could seem whiney or at least cynical and pessimistic.
 
Not so, with Putnam, who has become a master of this somewhat sarcastic craft. Instead, these songs are relatable confessions in a candy coating.
 
“Writing sad songs about utter loneliness comes very naturally to me,” he says. “These kinds of songs are very therapeutic for me to write.”
 
These sad songs are the ones that most connect with Putnam’s growing audience, especially those overseas that have propelled tunes such as his 2019 release “Secrets,” to just-shy of a million Spotify spins.
 
“I’m Not Perfect,” the first single from Lost Causes, started out as one of these “downer” tunes, but in sharing his early demo with his collaborators, Putnam was pushed to make it more, while keeping what makes it The March Divide. The tune opens Lost Causes and is a total success.
 
“Even though writing these types of songs is therapeutic for me, it’s also a rut,” Putnam says. “Emotionally, I got so much more out of working on ‘I’m Not Perfect’ by working with others. I’m hopeful that the fans who crave these songs from me will too. Maybe we can all get out of our sad bastard rut together.”
 
He’s a funny guy.
 
Lost Causes, the sixth album by The March Divide, is out now via Slow Start Records. Jared Putnam of The March Divide is available for interviews. Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic for more information.
 
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Josh Bloom at Fanatic Promotion | Contact
 
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