When it comes to writing about love and loss, Darrin James believes in being crystal clear.

The Ann Arbor singer-songwriter and producer shares honest and vulnerable stories about marriage, family, death, and uncertainty on his latest album, See Right Through.

“A lot of people say it’s heart-on-your-sleeve. I think that’s true and it’s always how I’ve kinda written. This album came from the more reflective side of things, and you have to embrace the vulnerability to write an honest song,” said James, who plays guitar, piano, organ, and synth on his fourth full-length release.

“Sometimes those tropes can express really true feelings … and sometimes when you’re being honest, a song is easier to write. It comes out more like a diary … and you’re staring at it thinking, ‘Now that it came out of me, that’s the song—it’s done.’”

On See Right Through, James reveals a gamut of emotions ranging from gratitude to joy to grief to hopelessness across seven tracks. Those raw feelings come to life through the album’s personal lyrics, heartfelt roots-rock instrumentation, and dreamy synth and horn textures.

“Those were personal songs that I waited until I had [them], and it made more sense after I had the love songs to counter the sad songs. I thought, ‘Now the whole album can have an arc of not just being a sad story,’” he said.

“Because [the songs] are more personal, they’re also more universal and timeless … Those themes I’m trying to deal with are ones that everyone [experiences].”

James starts his introspective journey on the hopeful opener, “When You’re With Me,” which celebrates letting your guard down and spending time with someone special.

Accompanied by spirited electric guitar and organ, he sings, “You don’t have to advertise your life when you’re with me / We can just enjoy good company in privacy / You can always be yourself when you’re with me / You can tell me any dream.”

“I had that jangling rhythm and a structure in my head, and that song is almost like a list. It’s very parallel, and I’m just listing things out. That’s fun because every line can have a different meaning,” James said.

“I’m talking about social media in one verse or I’m talking about being present and appreciating the sunset. But there’s a sense of loss in that song, too, and that one has some curveballs in it where I’m fighting dragons.”

After fighting dragons, James honors one of the real heroes in his life—wife Sarah—along with their 20-plus years of marriage and three children on “Born for One Love.”

Surrounded by euphoric synth, piano, and tenor sax, he sings, “Take my hand and lead the way / Take my time up every day / Shine your light on all my shadows / You’ll still love me anyway.”

“I surprised her with it, and I played it to her through headphones and with lyrics that she could read,” said James, who met his wife during their freshman year at the University of Michigan. 

“There are lines about how it’s a story that we write together, and we’ve had so many adventures because we’ve been together so long.”

James also captures the track’s romantic feel in a new black-and-white video. Filmed by videographer Adam Boroniec, it features James performing a stripped-down version of “Born for One Love” on a piano at his Ravine Records studio.

“It’s cool to have it be a solo song … The produced version has so much going on. It was more anthemic, but it could also be someone at a piano at a wedding. I think it’s more intimate that way,” he said.

“That song’s also interesting because I’m normally a guitar player, but I do have a few songs that are piano-based. There’s no guitar in that song, and that gives a different vibe, too.”

Next, James returns to his guitar roots on the melancholic acoustic ballad, “Old Friends,” which explores the grief and despair associated with losing a high school pal.

Filled with sorrow, he sings, “I learned we lost an old dear friend / A rare bird, a precious gem / Now there’s no flowers or card that I can send / Why is it always the best of us / Who leaves this emptiness in the rest of us?”

“It was written after I lost an old friend, but it’s not about her so much. It’s about how that felt to me, and I was just being raw, vulnerable, and honest,” said James, who was born in Kentucky, but raised in Brighton.

“It was such a vivid time in our lives and it was reflecting on that. I miss my old friends, and we were all reminiscing. Sometimes those songs just come out, but I wasn’t ready to play that for people then. That song had to sit in my subconscious for a while before I could record it.”

Finally, James becomes despondent about the growing uncertainty and division in the world on “Slips Away.” Forlorn electric guitar, bass, and drums echo his sorrow as he sings, “I’ve been defeated so many times / I won many battles / But I lost the war / Who will pay for our crimes? / Do we remember what we’re fighting for?”

“In that one, I’m talking about aging more liberally at the beginning of the song, but at the end, I’m talking about how everything slips away. It’s almost got biblical and post-apocalyptic things going on,” James said.

“I’ve always liked that kind of imagery … those kinds of dystopian, dark things where you’re standing there looking back and thinking, ‘What the hell happened?’ The whole song has an arc that moves from a personal history to a more of a way-of-the-world kind of thing.”

As part of that internal and external examination, James started writing tracks for See Right Through during the pandemic. He credits songwriters like Jeff Tweedy, Bob Dylan, John Lennon, and John Prine with inspiring him lyrically.

“I lean into that vulnerability because that’s what I’ve always liked in music, too,” James said. “I’ve always loved [Bob Dylan’s] Blood on the Tracks or solo John Lennon. It’s stuff that’s raw and [makes] you think, “Wow, this guy is hurting, but you feel that.’”

James not only digs deep lyrically on See Right Through, but sonically as well. He’s expanded and modernized his signature rootsy folk sound to include synthesizers and drum machines.

“I was sort of a holdout for synthesizers and electronic music. I grew up around blues, soul, Motown, and all the classic stuff,” said James, who recorded the album at his Ravine Records studio and released it through his Ravine Records label.

“During COVID, I was by myself a lot, and I started toying around with drum machines and synthesizers and realized I could build songs around beats that way. There are flourishes of that on the album that are subtle.”

James enhanced those subtleties through collaborations with pedal steel guitarist Drew Howard and his bandmates in the Afrobeat/funk group Disaster Relief: Brennan Andes (bass), Rob Avsharian (drums), Dan Bennett (baritone and tenor sax), Tim Haldeman (tenor sax), and Ross Huff (trumpet).

“Both Brennan Andes and Rob Avsharian are both super pros and great session players. Those guys just translate the ideas so well,” he said.

“We built the song ‘Anymore’ around the horns. I feel like the horn section adds so much to a song, and those guys are just one phone call away. I feel super lucky to get to play with them.”

James is also bringing a group of musicians together for his February 22 album release show at The Ark. Drummer Jonathan Taylor, keyboardist Keaton Royer, and Andes are performing with him during his set while Scotty Karate and Gregory Stovetop are opening the show.

“We’re gonna perform the new album and some select favorites from the last three albums,” he said. “Scotty Karate and Gregory Stovetop have a new project in the works, and we did some recording here weeks ago.”

After the show, James is preparing for a vinyl release of Karate’s new album and planning to release several LPs of new improvisational material he’s recorded at his new Ravine Records studio on Felch Street.

That new material comes from Oushak, a new experimental/improvisational group he’s formed with Taylor, Haldeman, and bassist Eric Nachtrab. James has been hosting recording weekly sessions with the band to capture their improvisational jams.

“It sounds completely different and it’s a totally different genre. I would like long-term to bring that more into the songwriting. This new project is a collective thing … and there’s a lot of music [that’s been] recorded,” he said.

“There are [also] some people in the local scene who I’ve recorded … and this studio is well set up for that. This is a studio where you can record live, but I also have separation. I’m hoping in the future that I can collaborate more with people and put out more records.”

Lori Stratton is a library technician, writer for Pulp, and writer and editor of strattonsetlist.com.

Darrin James performs February 22 at The Ark in Ann Arbor with Scotty Karate and Gregory Stovetop. For tickets, visit The Ark’s website.