Premiere: Gilbert Louie Ray cries tears into his beers with new song, ‘What I Have Left’

A breakup requires an immense amount of emotional currency. Nearly depleted of his, Gilbert Louie Ray grips tightly to what’s left of his heart, trying with all his might to keep it from totally bleeding out. “What I Have Left,” premiering today, finds Ray meandering through his pain, as though he’s bumbling through funhouse mirrors. “Pour me up a glass of whiskey or wine / I’m here all night and I’m here to unwind,” he sings, popping a top in the opening verse. Alcohol has become a temporary salve, allowing him to confide his feelings to the bartender.

By the chorus, the booze has warmed his bones, as he continues, “I didn’t leave my heart at the door of the airplane / I packed it with the luggage that was put overhead,” he sings. “Now she don’t return my calls / I’m use to climbing up much taller walls / But I should shake it loose and spare what I have left.”

Ray’s voice is reedy, trembling through the lyrics and pulverizing like a two-ton anvil. And that’s just his way. He has a knack for exacting his performance with enough weight to knock you off your feet. In fact, “What I Have Left” is among his best performances to date. While rationing off his emotional capacity, he comes to the conclusion that he has to ultimately let it slide from his shoulders if he has any intention of recovering. It might be hard to sever those ties, but sever them he must.

Listen to “What I Have Left” below.

Certainly, “What I Have Left” is as effective as it is because of the band surrounding Ray. Musicians Billy Lupton (mandolin), Patrick Torrez (bass), and Phoebe Silva (fiddle) supply a richness that boosts the song’s emotional quality. With great precision, the instruments accentuate Ray’s vocals with a sturdy, immovable framework. “Headaches that I have I brought on myself / Mistakes I make I repeat what the hell,” he sings, unraveling his heartstrings and tying them in knots. “And everytime I toss all these feelings around / I can’t help but go in and fold.”

Ray, whose influences run from the Beatles to Motown, hails from Atwater Village, California. That musical sensibility, the groove, and the incisive lyrics serve him well. Throughout his career, he’s fronted and participated in various musical collectives, but it’s his current state that feels most like him. He’s blossomed into the artist he was always destined to become.

Check out a live performance of the song, as well as two others, below.

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