Eliza Gilkyson’s “Secularia” is her twentieth album and amid the conributions from different members of her family she sings songs that praise the mystery and wonder of the world.

Gilkyson draws from her father’s music in one song and from the writings of her grandmother on two others while her son produces. She calls the songs meditations and likens the album to a long poem. Her voice has a serious beauty, even with the most heartbreaking subjects.

One of the songs is a traditional hymn song with the late Jimmy Lafave in what might be his final recording before his death last year.

The working title for the album was Secular Hymns but she feared it would be taken to literally and wanted to challenge us to respect all points of view and encourage us to be responsible for our own actions in these tumultuous times.

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