4 October 2026 – Lawrence Rothman Close an Americana Trilogy With Here Lives Love/Sawdust to Stardust

Lawrence Rothman have completed an unusually ambitious autobiographical trilogy with new album Here Lives Love/Sawdust to Stardust, a record that begins by asking the small, manageable question of what making art is actually for. Opening track "The Meaning" establishes the album's philosophical territory, but Rothman's answer is reassuringly less pretentious than the question might suggest: music remains a way of turning difficult experiences into something another human being might recognise.

The album completes a sequence begun with 2021's Good Morning, America and continued through 2024's The Plow That Broke the Plains, tracing Rothman's shift from the Los Angeles rock world toward Nashville and Americana. That journey has occurred alongside an increasingly significant career behind the mixing desk, with Rothman becoming a producer and collaborator as well as a recording artist. The new record consequently feels informed by somebody who has spent plenty of time helping other musicians discover what their songs are supposed to become.

Acoustic textures and storytelling remain central, but Rothman has already hinted that future work could move toward jazz, suggesting the trilogy really is a conclusion rather than a comfortable new permanent address. Three albums spent investigating identity, survival and artistic purpose is quite enough introspection for one trilogy. Jazz musicians, prepare yourselves.