When it came time for folk rock band Judah & the Lion to write a follow-up to its 2022 album Revival, the last thing frontman and songwriter Judah Akers wanted to write about was what he was going through.
Given that the Nashville-based musician was navigating a divorce and the loss of close family members to suicide, not wanting to revisit that pain seemed totally natural.
“I was having a hard time figuring out how to write about my divorce and also honor my ex, honor more than just the loss of the divorce, and honor the grief I’ve had in my life,” Akers said in a Zoom interview with mandolinist and co-songwriter Brian Macdonald.
It wasn’t until Macdonald suggested Akers write about his struggles by using the Kübler-Ross five stages of grief that the writing process for the 2024 album The Process — and Akers’ healing process — could begin in earnest.
“Sometimes you’re the one going through the grief,” Macdonald said, “and sometimes you’re the friend who is watching your friend experience that grieving process. That was me for this album. Getting to be there and be vulnerable with Judah as we crafted how we wanted to portray that process for him and for our band was definitely an honor.”
You’ve probably heard of the Kübler-Ross stages of grief before — denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. But with The Process, released in May, the band takes the model and runs with it, unashamedly baring the good, the bad and the angry for all to see across five sections and 24 tracks. Each section kicks off with an instrumental named for a stage of grief before inviting listeners into a deeply personal narrative set to a genre-bending soundtrack. The band’s forays into reverb-heavy synth-pop, hip-hop-inspired beats and flows, melancholic acoustic ballads and distorted guitar romps speak to the group’s sense of constant experimentation, all the while consistently keeping their vibe grounded in the signature banjo-and-mandolin Americana foundation that started it all for them.
The Process is the sound of a band having fun figuring out how to make it through grieving in one piece. As it turns out, the emotions on this release, from frustration to joy, are infectious in the best of ways.
Connecting with fans
“It was definitely a rewarding record to make,” Macdonald said. “We really put our heart into it. The stories that we’ve gotten back from fans are incredible already.”
Akers agreed, touching on how meaningful the live connection with fans has been on this tour.
“The people that are coming really want to be there, it feels like,” he said. “With the content of this record being very deeply personal and kind of heavy and heady at times, I’ve been thankfully surprised by how well the new songs are going.”
One such song is “Floating in the Night,” a dark and brooding meditation from the Anger section on the album that sees Akers reflecting on the difficulty of accepting intense emotions in the wake of loss. “It feels like this big release for the audience which is really cool. We’re just trying to get out there and essentially make people feel less alone. ”
It’s a paradox with which the band is familiar: It seems the more personal and specific the lyrics are, the more listeners identify with the songs. From the candid descriptions of depression that start the album in “Denial,” to the reckless, sing-through-the-pain scenes detailed in “New Tattoo” and “Son of a Gun,” to selling an ex’s old belongings in “Starting Over,” and to finally finding some semblance of meaning in the suffering in “Long Dark Night” — It’s six feet deep where you got to go/To come alive — the album is so honest it’s hard not to identify with the feelings, no matter what experience you’re bringing to the table.
“It wasn’t holding back any punches,” said Akers of the album’s honesty. “I think it’s our job as artists to dig up the things in ourselves that we don’t like, to dig up the things in our story that we don’t want to go back and face. There has been a depth of trying to be honest with ourselves first and to be able to move forward. We’re always trying to point people to hope and moving forward, regardless of that anger. There is a reason to move forward in life and not give up.”
But Akers is quick to point out acceptance isn’t some fantasy land of perpetual sunshine and rainbows. Accepting yourself can be a lifelong task — but it’s all a part of the process.
“Looking back at it, I think The Process isn’t about getting to acceptance and thinking that you have everything put together. I think it’s about learning to hold those things … being able to hold that depression, hold that anger, that denial in yourself and move forward regardless. That’s about as honest as you can get with yourself.”
Judah & The Lion takes the stage at the Refinery, 7 p.m. Oct. 23, with tickets starting at $35 at therefinerychs.com.
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