Lighthouse On The Shore / East Jesus

Music has two personalities, a duality frequently characterized by quiet introspection and power-driven proclamation. If you were a photographer, it would be light and dark. If you were a painter, it would be black and white. For a musician, it's acoustic and electric. Revered Chicago-based singer-songwriter Michael McDermott reveled in his creative duality to craft a first - two full albums, one acoustic and one electric, to be released on the same day as companion pieces of work. Lighthouse on the Shore, the acoustic opus, and East Jesus, the electric collection, arrive September 13 on McDermott's own Pauper Sky Records. "I guess it's always been a bit of a balancing act, my multiple personalities," says McDermott. "One of my personalities grew up listening to early Dylan, Woody Guthrie, Odetta, traditional Irish music, and Tom Waits. The other one was raised on The Stones, The Who, Van Morrison, and U2. My songwriting varies wildly, to sometimes great effect and other times a seemingly incoherent array of songs that never find homes on my albums. This time I thought I'd lean into both, make a quiet record and a loud one."