Inevitably, as we get older, our lives and our relationships are about transitions and how well, or how poorly, we adapt to them. But no matter what, life always pushes us forward. 

After busy years of recording and touring with the Bay Area-based Birds and Batteries, Mike Sempert decided to take some time off and focus on other aspects of his life – he moved to Los Angeles, bought a dog and got married. Written and recorded as Sempert was about to move to Los Angeles, the material off his solo debut, Mid Dream thematically (and quite naturally) focuses on the transitions of live, with the understanding that in our lives there are many more questions than answers, especially when one’s live changes. 

Heavily inspired by 70s AM radio rock – think of Fleetwood Mac, Gram Parsons, John Lennon, as well as the Shins, Low and others, Sempert’s solo effort possesses a stripped down sound in comparison to his work with Birds and Batteries.  In fact, it has an easy going, gentle country twang that’s warmly familiar, like a favorite pair of jeans or a favorite sweatshirt. And  the lyrics, as you’ll hear on “Good Morning, Young Artist,” the first single off the new album are direct and possess an unadorned honesty – the sort of honesty that’s not only rare for most modern music, but it also comes from lived in, experience.