Abraham Alexander’s debut album Sea/Sons, released in April 2023 on Dualtone Records, touches on the themes of loss, redemption, longing, anguish and joy, with lyrics that speak to pain, trauma, and life-changing loss. He instills his music with a joyful passion and irrepressible spirit, ultimately giving way to songs that radiate undeniable hope.
Alexander was born in Greece to parents of Nigerian descent, but he moved to Texas with his family at age 11 to escape the racial tensions they experienced in his birthplace. Following the death of his mother in a car accident with a drunk driver, he was adopted in his later teens. Sports, soccer specifically, was his solace, but following a torn ACL that ended his playing career, it was a gift from a friend who handed him a guitar that set his life path, as songs began bursting out of him.
“The image on the cover is me and my brothers in the ocean in Greece,” he explains of the album. “So, the title is me thanking my brothers in a way and just reminiscing about us being in the ocean and how time isn’t really a concept that kids grasp.” He adds that Sea/Sons is a reminder for us all to be in the moment in the sea and to dwell in the healing place, not looking at the clock.
Sea/Sons features performances from Gary Clark Jr. and Mavis Staples on the album’s first single “Tears Run Dry.” “The song is about love and wonder. The longing to love someone through a bad time and make whatever pain they are feeling disappear.” The single has been named KCRW’s Today’s Top Tune, with Colorado Sound, WCOO, WFUV, Birmingham Mountain Radio, KXT and WYEP leading the way at radio.
