Today, Jim James has shared his new single, “Lost Child.” With its soul-easing harmonies and luminous guitar work, “Lost Child” brings a lovely effervescence to James’ reflection on trying to stay open-hearted in a profoundly fractured world. One of the first songs written for the new solo album, Wowed Out ­and it is the only track to originate from outside the album’s archival framework, “Lost Child” also features a transcendentally soulful official music video streaming now on YouTube, which is directed by Alabama-born and Nashville-based filmmaker Joshua Shoemaker.

“Lost Child’ coalesced around a sweetly shuffling beat and piano sampled from R&B singer Maxine Brown’s ‘Oh No Not My Baby’ (a 1964 single co-written by Carole King),” says Jim James. “I heard that song, and it blew my mind, and as I was writing ‘Lost Child’ it somehow reminded me of all those pieces I’d been wanting to finish for so long. A major theme in my life is feeling a little lost in a world I don’t understand, Most days I look at all the violence and hatred, and I can’t believe it’s happening and it’s like I wandered into the wrong dimension. ‘Lost Child’ is another song where I’m asking for help to try to make sense of it all.”

Photo Credit: Sharon Alagna