Amigo the Devil has released the new single “A New Kind of Lonely,” the first song from him since he survived a devastating house fire in June, according to Consequence. Amigo the Devil, aka Danny Kiranos, lost everything in the blaze, including his personal history: original artwork, handwritten lyric books, decades of demos, a vast collection of curiosities and family keepsakes and his girlfriend Abbey’s dog, Kobe, who died in the fire.

The song is an intensely personal reflection on what transpired and Amigo’s reconciliation with the losses he suffered in the months that followed. The singer-songwriter said, “Although still navigating the tragic loss of my home, my life… the cruelty of watching a lifetime of collecting and work burn itself to rubble, this song isn’t about that. It isn’t singular or momentary. When people ask for an explanation of what a song means or the process it was written through I often feel stuck. Do I make up this otherworldly, elaborate story of the greater gods and underworld energies fighting their way into my brain to create these 3 minutes in time? Were the lyrics hand delivered by a dying breed of beetle on an old world scroll? Do I force myself to feel so self aggrandized that it was all the spark of a genius and the brutal labor of wading in torment. Oh the fucking burden I carry blah blah blah. No…I just wrote it. That’s it. It happened to be the words that came to mind when I heard the melody in my head. That’s as simple as it usually is and hopefully as beautifully natural as it will ever be. The idea of glamorizing song writing into some hard labor or philosophic masterpiece, in my opinion, just takes away from the beauty of what songs are. They just are. Just like I am, and you are…and things are. Then they go, often without notice. That’s why it’s so important for me that people take songs for what they need them to be in that moment. Not everyone will have the same kind of lonely and expressing what mine was in the moment I wrote this song takes it away from everyone else’s purpose with it. These songs aren’t mine. The same way anyone else doing any other craft or trade will know. You show up, you do the work and then you leave it behind for others to enjoy. No one asks an electrician what inspired him to wire a house the way he did (I’m sure someone does but shut the fuck up, you get it, thank you). Whether you find yourself alone in a new space for the first time without your person by you. Whether you’re learning a new reality after leaving behind an addiction or circumstance…maybe said fuck this career and are starting over or you simply decided you don’t want to be who you have been and the terror crawls through your skin every time you reach out for comfort just to find nothing on the other end, the only place we find hope is in the perspective. Yes, it’s terrifying and yes it’s new. Whether it falls within the bounds of your planned life or is completely unfamiliar it is a chance to rebuild with all the knowledge you wish you had the first go around.

Out on the Australian tour a gentleman who came to multiple shows was flying home the same time we were so we had a small chat. This is days after recording this song with Talley. Of all the wonderful and brilliant things he said through our short chat in a tiny Tasmanian airport terminal, one sentiment stood out the most. Although specific in that moment to the fire and hope for reconstruction, I’ve applied it to everything else that would otherwise feel like failure or hardship in my life. He said ‘…don’t forget, you’re not starting from zero. You’re starting from experience.’

That’s the new kind of lonely that I’m hoping will bring a better tomorrow. I hope you enjoy it and take whatever you need from it, if anything. If not, I hope the days keep steady and the path is sturdy for you. Don’t wait to enjoy anything in your life. You never know when the universe will take it back. I’m grateful to you all.” Listen to the new song below.

Photo Credit: Kalyn Oyer