Reviews of SECULARIA
“Notching Eliza Gilkyson’s 20th album, Secularia offers the steadfast patience that permeates the veteran folk artist’s tunes like a lighthouse to stormy seas. The singer exudes a poetic wisdom few songwriters achieve, and a timeless quality to the album’s secular hymns hearkens Leonard Cohen.” Austin Chronicle
“Now nearly a dozen records into a fruitful tenure with renowned folk label Red House, Gilkyson is producing the best music of her career. As the title hints, spirituality is a central theme here, but it’s a relationship that transcends the bounds of organized religion….grounded in folk music but embroidered with rich atmospheric accents.” Austin American Statesman
“Produced by her son, Cisco Ryder, these songs, new and old, originals and covers, create and exist in a gorgeous tension that bravely assumes responsibility for being okay with her questions about the spiritual unknown… willing vulnerability and accountability to become her gritty resolve.” All Music Guide
“Eliza Gilkyson, twenty albums in, seems to be marshaling all her inner emotions, her feminist and political activism, as she challenges conventional religious beliefs while beseeching us to be more accountable in these divisive times.” Glide Magazine
“Secularia is a series of poems and hymns, deeply spiritual songs that praise the wonder and beauty of the world, that lament its destruction, and that celebrate the joy of the mystery that lies behind its wild wonder.” No Depression
“As an instrument sounding a clarion call for self-awareness and awakening in a divisive world, Gilkyson is finely tuned and Secularia a career-defining musical apotheosis. Praise be.” Folk Radio UK
“They say the third time is a charm, but if Eliza Gilkyson’s new release Secularia (Red House Records) is any indication, the twentieth time is spellbinding.” Americana Highways
Reviews of The Nocturne Diaries
“Even the darkest moments here are warmed by a genuine compassion for the lost souls who sometimes populate her stories, and a very real concern for the world we all live in is woven through every tune… Whether she looks into darkness or light, Eliza Gilkyson’s vision is impressive, and she’s given us another remarkable glimpse at her gifts as a vocalist and songwriter on The Nocturne Diaries.” ~ All Music Guide
“Gilkyson’s first in three years … is beautiful. Night-time songs, haunting lullabies, a backporch love song, plus folk-Americana that makes you think of Lucinda Williams at her most tender.” **** (4 stars) ~ MOJO
“… a shimmering album that sounds just as impressive in the daylight as in the darkness that inspired it.” ~ American Songwriter Magazine
“While her tone is hopeful, she doesn’t ignore the reality of the material world and its limits. She is fearless and fearful at the same time, as the way she sings and the words she croons contradict each other in a Whitmanian manner. She too contains multitudes.” ~ PopMatters
“Quite simply, this is a subjectively diverse cornucopia of nocturnal musical delights from Eliza Gilkyson.” *****(5) ~ Maverick Magazine
“Her vocals, as always, are a marvel of emotional precision and intelligence. Gilkyson does not disappoint.” ~ Rambles.net
“The Nocturne Diaries is as much about the darkness in the middle of the night as it is about getting through to night’s end. It’s a journey album that wrestles with some of life’s greatest questions, pays tribute to her family and heroes, and discovers what ultimately matters most.” ~ Folk Alley
“The Nocturne Diaries is as deeply satisfying and transcendent as any record she’s ever made — including such high-water marks as her 2000 masterpiece Hard Times in Babylon and 2005’s exquisite Paradise Hotel. ” ~ Lone Star Music Review
“A combination of gravity and grace… Her writing is poetry, something that most songwriters strive for but not so many actually achieve. The strength of her lyrics and music help set the work apart.” ~ Buddy Magazine
“Her string of nine albums recorded for Red House Records since 2000, including the trio album Red Horse, serve as a testament to her consistency and the magnitude of her talents as a vocalist, songwriter, and instrumentalist. If this were a competition, these albums would stand alongside and surpass those recorded over a similar period of time by Rosanne Cash, Lucinda Williams, and John Hiatt. Yeah, she’s that danged good.” ~ The Lonesome Road Review
“Drawing on elements of folk, country and Americana, Gilkyson, like contemporaries Shawn Colvin, Lucinda Williams, Rosanne Cash, demonstrates that the craft of songwriting, intelligent and lasting, is ultimately in the hands of those who can not only turn out a compelling second album, but five, or ten, or with this Grammy-nominated performer, over twenty.” ~ Direct Current Music
“Beloved local singer-songwriter, Eliza Gilkyson has just released her new album, The Nocturne Diaries and is captivating listeners yet again with intimate, heartfelt folk stories…” ~ KUTX Music Archive
“Essential and sublime” ~ UNCUT, April 2014
“Texas-based singer-songwriter Eliza Gilkyson encompasses dark and light in her first album in three years. From the environmental warning of “The Ark” to the hopeful “Touchstone,” Gilkyson digs deep and sings beautifully.” ~ More Magazine
“…a warm and subtly hued tapestry of sound” **** (4 stars) ~ R2 (Rock’n’Reel) Magazine