Album of the Month: January
Florida-based singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Corey Kilgannon has been crafting and sharing music for over fifteen years. His latest album, From Silence, to Silence, and with Great Joy, marks his eighth full-length release. Composed of 15 tracks and spanning a total of 1 hour and 8 minutes, this album was recorded on a Tascam reel-to-reel in the closet of his office at Atlantic Theatres, where he serves as the resident sound healer, creative director, and music pastor.
What I love most about this album is its purity. From the very first tracks, you can feel that it was made with joy, free from any ulterior motives—just a sincere celebration of love and diversity, inviting listeners to do the same. There couldn’t be a better message to start 2025 with. The instrumentation, mostly played by Corey himself, includes the same sounds that first made me fall in love with his music — guitar, piano, banjo, cello, and trumpet. His vocals are warm, and the melodies feel like a gentle goodnight embrace.
The standout track for me is G*d is a Woman. If you’ve listened to my playlists, you might know that I don’t usually feature songs with religious or political references. But this one is different — it’s the first time I’ve seen an artist present a feminine image of the divine in such an honest and original way. Kilgannon himself explains that, whatever God may be, it’s both or neither—perhaps more of a process than a person. While much of his work embraces a nuanced and non-gendered approach to spirituality, he felt it was time for a song that simply and boldly states, “God is a girl.” As he puts it, this is art, not theology — and maybe, one day, we’ll have the courage and creativity to engage with the divine without fear or rigid rules.
From Silence, to Silence, and with Great Joy is an album that soothes and challenges at the same time. It’s an invitation to listen deeply — not just to the music, but to ourselves and the world around us. If you haven’t heard it yet, I highly recommend giving it a spin!