Byland is the acclaimed musical project of Seattle-based singer-songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Alie Renee Byland and her husband/co-writer Jake Byland. Born of a dream of home but waylaid by disappointment, frustration, and eventual acceptance, the couple’s journey through the past led to Byland’s new album, Heavy For A While. Fueled by Byland’s spirited, eclectic musical approach, songs like “Settle My Mind” & “Postcard” are widescreen expressions of longing and isolation, weaving deep-rooted melodies, candid lyrical communication, and sophisticated arrangements with whispers of nostalgia and an unstoppable sense of forward motion. The result is a singular vision both familiar and unprecedented, bittersweet yet strikingly life-affirming. With its shrewd sonic template and Alie’s striking vocal performance at its center, Heavy For A While marries themes of intimacy and heartache, nostalgia and hopefulness, the quest for home and the complexity of holding onto it once it is found. Finely etched and strikingly direct, songs like the celestial “Two Circles” and the kinetic ode to Alie’s childhood best friend, “Monstera,” are ideal distillations of Byland’s approach, balancing multiple shades of emotional nuance with an uncluttered sentimentality. The record stands as testament to Byland continuing evolution as musicians and human beings, marking both a personal milestone as well as a universal expression of longing for a sense of community in an increasingly detached world.