Life has a way of dismantling best-laid plans, to the point where it’s almost cliché. For David Wimbish, the period leading up to the forthcoming Heavy Love (Nettwerk) was marked by a breakup, a move, the arrival of a child and the devastation of Hurricane Helene. One of the new album’s most affecting moments, “Thank You For Leaving” is a streamlined country-tinged stomper that, through sheer force of will, squeezes the sweet juice of hard-won gratitude from heartbreak’s rotten core.
“I’ve always hated the saying, ‘Sometimes you really don’t know who or what’s holding you back until it’s gone,’” says Wimbish. “I wrote this in the wake of a friendship that very suddenly exited my life, and I truly didn’t know how I was going to move forward with this giant new hole in my heart.”
Also upended by the aftermath of Helene, Wimbish wrote, performed and produced Heavy Love’s 16 tracks almost entirely on his own in a studio he built inside his parents’ North Carolina home. The resulting song cycle is polished yet immediate in its disarmingly honest depiction of personal growth. And as for that giant hole in his heart?
“Somehow, months later, I realized I’d healed it myself without needing anyone else to fill it—and it was so incredibly empowering,” says Wimbish. “‘Thank You For Leaving’ came out of that space of expressing genuine grace, well wishes for the past and gratitude for the future.”
We’re proud to premiere David Wimbish & The Collection’s “Thank You For Leaving.” Heavy Love is due November 13.
—Hobart Rowland
See David Wimbish & The Collection live.
