I'm drawing on the urgency of the moment,' reflects Grant-Lee Phillips. 'The things that eat away in the late hours...' That urgency inspired the headlong rush of Widdershins, in which Phillips invests the insight, nuance, and wit that has distinguished his songcraft over the past three decades in a riveting dissection of today's fraught social landscape.

With more than two decades' experience first as frontman of the acclaimed Grant Lee Buffalo then and accomplished solo artist, Phillips awakens comfort and hope by shining light into darker corners. 'I hope to express my faith in people, my faith in the good ideas we're capable of, and that regardless of what opposition we face, the fact that we can surmount these things,' he concludes.