“Feel it out, take it slow, take time away, to tend to the bones.”

Stewack’s lyrics serve as a fitting encapsulation of the ethos of Lunar Ash: to take one’s time, to move in communion with nature, to honor one’s truth, and to help others to recognize the interconnectedness of all things. What started out as a solo project of Stewack found its true form as a four-piece band, filled out by Mark Jaeschke on guitar, Katie Steel on bass/vocals, and Evan Loritsch on percussion, keys and a number of other instruments.

The lush, atmospheric tracks are full of Stewack’s tender-hearted lyrics that blend Americana, rock, and folk, among other genres, into a frank, easy sound that they beautifully sum up as “indie whimsy.”

Stewack began writing the album during the pandemic. It was then that she returned to playing music in earnest—realizing the importance of seizing time while we have it. For her, Rosa & The Red Thread is about following the breadcrumbs of intuition, reclaiming power, and stewarding that power in a shared sense of communal solidarity. The feeling of catharsis and liberatory potential reverberates throughout the album, but is perhaps best illustrated in “Waggle ‘Til We’re Free,” which builds into a full-bodied anthem, everyone adding their voices to a rich collective tapestry of sound.

It’s a call for healing the earth and working together to build a more just future, a call to work for change until all of us are free.

By Kerry Cardoza