grapples with some big topics on his latest album The Seattle-based songwriter's introspective excavations range from understanding the meaning of life and letting go of faith.
"All writing for me is trying to understand myself better and understand the world I live in through the context of song and self reflection, which sometimes can be a rabbit hole and doesn鈥檛 always lead anywhere," Gundersen said.
"This record was that process of coming to terms with or accepting the fact I might not always have an answer or a complete understanding and that鈥檚 okay. It's still important to go through the process and to attempt to understand our existence because that鈥檚 what makes us human. "
Gundersen's humanity is dissected in songs like "Empty From The Start." He questions the validity of religion's role in our day-to-day lives as he softly sings "This is all we have/ This is all we are/ Blood and bones no Holy Ghost/ Empty from the start."
"This is my follow up in a sense after leaving Christianity. I was grappling with this question of, 'If we are all alone in the universe, what can we do here that actually has meaning or depth or purpose?'" he said.
"I came upon this idea that if you make one other person feel slightly less alone or are able to share yourself and be vulnerable with one other person, then two people who were alone before are now less alone. That鈥檚 a really powerful but simple way to approach life."
Gunderson plays at the in Carrboro at 8:00 p.m. on Saturday, October 10.
Listen to "Empty From The Start" below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9z9qcU21Z4
