Bloglander

Spokane singer-songwriter Chris Molitor is releasing his first full-length album at the Bartlett on Friday, and the Inlander has an early exclusive of the record, titled Coming Home.

Molitor, originally from Michigan, moved to Spokane from Los Angeles last year with his wife, whose family has lived here for years. At the time of the move, his band the Wilder Society was coming to an end, and Molitor says he was looking for a change of pace.

"When we came up here, we weren't sure if we were going to stay in Spokane. Obviously, we're still here," Molitor told the Inlander last week. "A lot of people are probably searching for that, the place where they just fit. And I think we've found it."

The new album itself echoes Molitor's own experiences in the past few years. It's shot through with themes of traveling, soul-searching and homesickness; true to its title, it's about feeling lost before finding your way again. It opens on a hopeful note with the upbeat "Across the Room," grows more melancholy and dark as it unfolds, then comes around to a newfound sense of optimism by its closing title track, which Molitor says is about his mom.

Molitor recorded Coming Home mostly by himself last winter, setting up a makeshift studio at his in-laws' lake house in Newport. He says most of the songs on the album had been sitting around for awhile, and he tracked the entire record in about three weeks on his own.

He typically plays solo in live settings, too — he sees a lot of value, he says, in "the raw nature of a person and one instrument and their voice" — but he’ll have a backing band at Friday night’s show. After spending a few years entrenched in L.A.'s music scene, Molitor says the warm, collaborative nature of Spokane's music community has been a pleasant change of pace.

"I'm excited to continue becoming a part of this creative community," Molitor says. "My experience of Spokane's music scene has been such a welcome environment. People aren't out for blood here. It's almost like everyone is trying to help everyone else out, which is so refreshing coming from a more cutthroat environment."

Chris Molitor performs with Mama Doll at the Bartlett (228 W. Sprague) on Fri, Oct. 27 at 8 pm. Tickets are $8 here, and $10 at the door.

Listen to Coming Home here: