“The end of one journey is often the beginning of another, and sometimes, you need to travel down a road that’s beautiful and challenging, to realize that heading back to the place you began is where you need to go,” states David Wimbish.

After four full-length albums, and countless shows at the helm of The Collection, singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist David Wimbish returns to his origins with the onset of his next era, solo as David Wimbish & The Collection. As the previous six-piece iteration came to an end to pursue other paths, Wimbish turns the page and embarks on his own journey with his 2025 LP N(asheville) Skyline (Nettwerk), featuring new music and alternate versions of fan favorite tracks from his previous albums. 

"“When my career began, my project was called David Wimbish & The Collection,” he says, “but over the following years, what was originally a solo project became a band. The identity really shifted into a much more collaborative vision, emotionally, relationally, and musically. But 2024 brought that vision to an end as life called various members to other pursuits. That shift allowed me to approach these songs I’ve written with a new vision. I’m getting back to my roots of a more organic sonic footprint with less musical frills one that is focused on the song and my voice primarily. That’s what I’m doing now. I returned to writing in a way that I hadn’t in a long time, just me and a guitar, and stepping into a very honest, if not a little scary, space.””

In pursuing this return to his roots, Wimbish found the perfect cohort to bring this vision to life in producer Marshall Altman [Matt Nathanson, Trevor Hall]. Together, they recorded the album during four months in Nashville, TN.  For the first time, David cut songs live in the studio accompanied by a rotating supporting cast of studio musicians, and it enabled him to conjure raw emotions on the tracks, old and new. “I essentially got the chance to be aware of what was happening in the room and clue into it,” he notes. “We were able to capture pure emotions.” You can feel it on the new single “Love Me More.” The stark, open acoustic guitar serves his emotionally charged delivery and resonant vocals. Propelled forward by a steady beat, his reedy vocals echo across the hook, “Are you choosing me while I'm losing you? What if you love me more than I do?” “I’ve struggled a lot with self-image,” he admits. “This song was born from a relationship that did eventually end, and it was written during a long period where I felt like the situation was always on the edge of unravelling. The first fear was like, ‘What if you love me more than I love you?’ By the end, I started to notice the real fear was ‘What if you love me more than I love me?’. 

Since 2017, “Beautiful Life” has remained a fan favorite and a live staple after it landed on NPR Tiny Desk Judges’ Picks. Haunting chords brush up against pensive verses until a warm chorus takes hold, “I just can’t get enough of this beautiful life.” With fatherhood looming on the horizon for David, the song took on a whole new life. “When we did the vocals, I was trying to identify a different sense of meaning,” he goes on. “I had just found out I was going to be a dad. I kept imagining that I was singing it to my kid. It put me in the most emotional state I’ve ever been in while cutting a vocal, and I think that emotion resonates in this new version.” Delicate finger-picking, mandolin, tambourine accent his stark confessions on the reimagined version of “Medication,” which was a breakout single off the Little Deaths LP (2023). “I’ve struggled with heavy depression since my teen years,” he says. “I had hit the point where it was so bad that I decided to try to take my own life. Thankfully, I didn’t succeed. And  I was in a conversation with a friend who asked, ‘Have you ever tried meds before?’ But I hadn’t, because  I had so much self-hatred. I was in the way of accessing the resources I needed, because I didn’t believe that I was worth getting better. I eventually did get on meds, and the song became a reflection on my mental health journey, but also trying to sort of reclaim self-worth. We all deserve to be able to access joy, life, and goodness.” And that hook, “I deserve to be well,” has become a call to self care, to joy, to life, and to goodness…. Then, there’s “Take It With You.” Between sparse and beautiful chords on the piano, he examines the emotional pitfalls of a toxic relationship. He urges, “Take it with you when you go, that shit ain’t really mine to hold onto.”

“It’s a common experience, but you get into a relationship and this person makes his or her problems yours,” he sighs. “Even if it’s not explicitly your problem, the energy becomes, ‘I’m suffering, so we're both going to suffer.’ I’m trying to say, ‘Let's talk through it and take care of it emotionally’.” Threading strings through the production, he expands the soundscape on “Love At The End of the World.” Lyrically, he laments the state of the world, yet nevertheless transmits a message of hope in the chorus lyric “​​’Cause we found love at the end of the world, and I don’t think I feel guilty, for feeling something at all….”

“I was shooting for this big seventies orchestral rock vibe,” he explains. “It discusses how bad the world is right now, but it preserves a glimmer of hope. Being able to find glimmers of happiness within hardship is the essential piece to keep going.”

On the other end of the spectrum, “You Taste Like Wine” goes down sweetly with an intoxicating melody and dreamy sway. “It’s about deeply loving somebody no matter what,” he smiles. “I’ve been able to enter into a loving relationship, so it’s about being in love with someone who is also loving youback.”

In the end, David’s new chapter sees him connect as intimately as ever.

“I always just want people to feel like they’re not alone,” he concludes. “On these songs, I’m tapping into some deeply vulnerable topics and spaces, like relationships, self-loathing, depression, and fear. My hope is people will feel very seen and maybe even held.”

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