Homely by Kim Ware and the Good Graces

After I finished my recent studio album, “Ready,” I had an urge to just make something more stripped down. I liked the idea of having two new albums available at my merch table, one that showed off my full-band, indie-rock side, and the other that showed my more folky, acoustic, coffeehouse/listening room side. So I quickly got to work on “Homely.” I recorded it and mixed it myself, my first time doing so.

My primary goal was to produce something more akin to how I sound live (these days, most of the time I play solo or occasionally with another person) and to include songs I might put together for a short set. So, a few of the songs had been released as a studio version on a previous record, but for most, what you hear on “Homely” is the first recorded version. I also wanted to make something special for people who have stuck with me since the very beginnings of the Good Graces (the name I gave my songwriting project when I first started nearly 15 years ago in Atlanta). I sort of think of this album as our (my and my closest fans/friends’) little secret. With the exception of Bandcamp, I’m not releasing it on any of the streaming sites, and I’m doing just a bit of radio promotion for it. I feel like the folks who are really interested, they’ll find a way to find it, or it will find them. It will do what it’s meant to do.

This collection of songs is very imperfect. That’s not to say I’m not happy with it. But there are many things I could have “fixed.” I could have treated these as demos and spent months fine-tuning and fleshing out each song until I had a fully realized, sonic wonderland with all sorts of atmosphere and vibe and and and … I’ve done that. I didn’t want this record to be that.

Doing it this way taught me so much. And I think if you experience something and really do learn a lot from it, then inevitably there are things you look back on and cringe, thinking how you might do them now, with more (or at least different) knowledge. But at the same time, I think making this album in this way is exactly what I needed to do. Flaws and all. It’s honest, it’s real, it’s me. And, it’s home.

As I write this, my husband and I are building a new house – something that I will also look back on and cringe. But I digress. For the past two years (and counting), we’ve been living in my aunt’s old farmhouse. A house that’s been in our family for over 100 years and sits beside my dad’s peach orchard. He passed away in 2019. And while it’s been a drag feeling so displaced (most of our belongings are in storage), living here has definitely made me feel closer to him. So the making of “Homely” also served another purpose—a way to capture “home.”

Despite the challenges the past couple of years have thrown at me, I’m proud to have found a way to make this and get it out into the universe. I enjoyed working on it so much; it was such a treat when I’d have new tracks sent to me from Noah, John, Jonny, or Mark and I’d get to play around with the mixes. It truly brought me some light during a very heavy time. I’m very grateful for all of it.

Thank you so much for taking the time to listen.

"Really emotional and really good" -Noisey

"It’s no stretch to call Kim Ware an Atlanta treasure. Fans of her songs have always been delighted by her keen eye for subtle images and toe-tapping arrangements.” -Immersive Atlanta

"The music is excellent. Some of the words are too sad." -Kim's mom

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