New Mexican - Take It on Our Shoulders (2018)

While the songs on Take it on Our Shoulders were conceived using an acoustic guitar, a voice and a pen and paper, the arrangements range from acoustic-based to noisey, fuzzed-guitar-driven textures, the latter likely a byproduct of Hoffman’s time collaborating with Strange Americans cohort Trent Nelson.

Take it on Our Shoulders is communicated through a hardened, simple, somewhat tired voice that explores and processes difficult-but-pertinent themes; ideas such as wealth and materialism and how they relate to meaningfulness, American socio-cultural conditioning and interaction, what it may have been like in America’s past generations to have blue-collar work and be able to provide for a family.

The album’s writing came at an interesting time (2016) during which Hoffman’s hometown of Denver, CO was experiencing socio-economic growing pains, Hoffman and his wife became parents, and the American political climate, well, you know the story . . .

Take it on Our Shoulders attempts to sit with struggle, point out instead of point fingers, and explore how more than one belief can be true simultaneously.

Tracklist:
01. New Mexican - Sold It Back
02. New Mexican - Broken Horse
03. New Mexican - Heard It on the Radio
04. New Mexican - Anything Pretty
05. New Mexican - Two Hearted
06. New Mexican - Major Cowboy
07. New Mexican - Interlude #6
08. New Mexican - Diggin' Holes
09. New Mexican - Half Empty
10. New Mexican - Letters
11. New Mexican - Some Great Adventure