Track-by-Track: A Journey Through Scott Marshall’s Expansive Double Album, ‘LifeSize’

Scott Marshall, performing under the name LifeSize, came of age in Seattle during a cultural boom that shaped his creative foundation. Growing up between households after his parents’ divorce, he absorbed a wide spectrum of sounds, from The Beatles and Hendrix to Sonic Youth and Screaming Trees, influences that continue to inform his expansive pop-rock sound.

Following the critical acclaim of 2020’s Woolsey, a poignant tribute to California wildfires and personal rebirth, Marshall returns with a 24-track odyssey that traverses the full range of the human experience: from searing heartbreak and political unrest to spiritual awakening, redemption, and enduring love.

Commenting on the album, Marshall states:

“LifeSize is a deeply personal collection. I’m lucky I was able to get both joy and healing in the creation of this album. Everyone has experienced some form of love, great loss, redemption, and many of the other human experiences I delve into. I truly hope that listeners will find compassion and solace in my music.”

The album was produced by Grammy Award-winning producer Dave Darling (Def Leppard, Janiva Magness, Brian Setzer), with additional production and mixing by Scott Marshall and Ryan Lipman. The project features an all-star lineup of collaborators, including Janiva Magness on lead vocals for the soul-stirring track “Always,” as well as acclaimed musicians Arlan Schierbaum, Carl Sealove, Elizabeth Wight, Jeff Turmes, and Roger Carter.

In this exclusive Track-by-Track rundown, Marshall provides a behind-the-scenes peek into each track on the expansive double album. Read on to discover the influences, stories, and experiences that shaped what’s considered the “best of” Lifesize.

Tracklist for ‘Lifesize’ Album

1. “The River Comes”

“I wrote this song in an effort to comfort one of my dearest friends while his mother was in the last stages of terminal cancer. It is one of the first songs I wrote, and I put a lot of effort and care into it. I tried my best to express the complicated battle between carnal loss and spiritual release. It is very difficult to let go of a loved one, and I have been told by my fans that this song is inspirational, and when the song ends, the listener is uplifted and wants to re-listen immediately. I hope you feel the same.”

2. “Find Our Way”

“This track was written while I was in a long-distance relationship. I was going for a moody, late-night listening vibe. It explores the delicious consciousness between waking and dreaming. There, one can create, travel, and most importantly, as expressed in this song, connect.”

3. “California Home”

“‘California Home’ is a song written in the wake of surviving a Southern California wildfire. The lyrics are purposely both reflective and observational. I wanted to express a clear-eyed, sober, yet loving assessment of what it means to be a Californian. They speak of both wanting to stay and longing to be. The music is upbeat and an homage to uplifting music that comes out of California.”

4. “Man of Tao”

“This is my attempt at a Beatles-esque, psychedelic-infused, spiritual rock raaga. With the lyrics, I tried to evoke a very simple, yet wide-open feeling of the Tao Te Ching. It is written as both praise and a plea for a dear friend of mine, and myself, to hang on to the spirit of this unique philosophy.”

5. “Gone Again”

“Simply put, ‘Gone Again’ is a moody, meditative groove about discovering that your wife is having an affair. The inspiration to write it was a breakup that a best friend of mine was going through. But after I wrote it, I realized it was just as much or more, written about a divorce that I had gone through.

“In the lyrics, I tried to review all the work and longing one struggles with while trying to hold onto a relationship they don’t want to let go of. While still balancing the need to let go after betrayals, and dealing with the deep shock of trying to get through it.”

6. “Black Car”

“‘Black Car’ is an eerie Pink Floyd-infused, yet sublime rock ballad that summons the spirit of Nancy and Lee’s ‘Some Velvet Morning.’ It is the only track on the album that I cowrote with a partner. It is about a dreamlike longing for someone in a long-distance relationship. My signature low emotive vocals are complemented by the co-writer’s female voice, who brings an ethereal quality to the track. Listeners are transported to a place of yearning as the two vocal characters reach for one another through the verses.”

7. “Woolsey”

“I found out the hard way that sometimes you can’t just click your heels and return home. This song was written in the wake of evacuating my home with my children and other loved ones, and never being able to live in it again. The home, and almost all of our belongings, were lost in a California wildfire.

“Unlike the uplifting ‘California Home,’ Woolsey focuses on the surreal, disorienting, yet laser sharp aspects of fleeing and struggling to look for some silver lining during the horror and baptismal rebirth of having to start from scratch.”

8. “Cobra & Mongoose”

“Musically, ‘Cobra & Mongoose’ is one of the kick ass rockers on the album. Lyrically, it is a tongue-in-cheek take on sexual role-play. It is a purposely exaggerated reaction to a conversation I had with a woman I was with at the time. During the conversation, she insisted that men should always be the aggressors and in charge in a relationship.”

9. “Red”

“‘Red’ is a sensual, bluesy track about passion. It is a deep dive into the blood red bucket of lust, longing, and love.”

Image and Artwork by Joe Tamel and George Kander

10. “Your Love Is So Hard to Find”

“‘Your Love Is So Hard to Find’ is a J.J. Cale and Black Keys-inspired groove. The lyrics playfully expand on the title’s meaning. I tried to convey the longing, searching, and desperation that sometimes exists when you can no longer find reciprocal love from somebody that you are still in love with.”

11. “Back of a Car”

“‘Back of a Car’ is one of the two songs on the album where the lead vocals are sung exclusively by a woman. This track features the exquisite voice of Elizabeth Wight. In a way, the character in this song could be seen as the woman that the singer in ‘Your Love Is So Hard to Find’ is trying to reconnect with. But she is already physically and emotionally gone, driving down the road while glancing in the rearview mirror, trying to make sense of what went wrong.”

12. “Tableau”

“‘Tableau’ was inspired by the brutal end of a friend’s marriage, where his ex-partner wove a fictional narrative of the relationship and breakup to her friends, their mutual friends, and on social media. Like the title itself, it is an oblique, moody musical and lyrical piece that explores the moral implications of falsely ‘outing’ or ‘cancelling’ someone.”

13. “Buried Alive”

“Musically, ‘Buried Alive’ starts off with a catchy guitar riff hook that invites the listener into an upbeat landscape. The lyrics, however, reveal that the groove is unfortunately an illusion. The male singer discovers that the woman he is in love with has been hiding past secrets that can no longer be concealed. The female singer’s plea is partially confessional, and partially deflection and projection. The end result being that our protagonist realizes that an avalanche of lies has undermined any chance of the relationship ever being successful and must now figure out a way out.”

14. “Always”

“‘Always’ is a straightforward ’50s-style love ballad with twists. With a dash of ‘Up on Cripple Creek’ irony mixed in with true classic romanticism, the track is both a homage and a loving send-up of the genre. The vocals are delivered by the iconic powerhouse Janiva Magness.”

15. “Waiting”

“‘Waiting’ is a trance-like meditation of longing while trying to hold space and patience for reciprocal love. The duet of the male and female vocals add a haunting effect to the track.”

16. “Thin Air”

“‘Thin Air’ is a catchy pop/rock groove that has been compared to Tom Petty by music critic Jim Harrington of Media News Group. The track opens with a signature guitar hook and then sprawls across an expansive sonic landscape with a driving drumbeat. The lyrics explore the idea of reaching out for somebody that you felt, with body, heart and soul, but now it seems as if they were a mirage, never really there.”

Image and Artwork by Joe Tamel and George Kander

17. “Why She Goes”

“‘Why She Goes’ is an ethereal, joyful pop love song. It is written about a long-distance relationship I was in, and realizing the joy and love I felt in the arrival of, and the presence of, the one I loved. It is also about accepting her departure and trusting that she and her love would still be present in her absence. But, I still longed for her not to go.”

18. “Rise Above”

“‘Rise Above’ is a guitar-driven rocker about the salvation of life and love. Like several other songs on this album, I wrote it in the aftermath of a California wildfire. Unlike ‘Woolsey,’ which is a moody track, describing the feeling of being caught in the barbed wire of a fire, and its aftermath, ‘Rise Above’ is a clear, reassuring statement of confidence in the uncertainty of facing something different, yet similar.

“After losing our home, I wanted this to be a love letter to the woman I was with. But, the shift in the final refrain is also a mantra of affirmation to my kids, my loved ones, and everyone who has experienced significant loss in life.”

19. “Where Does the Light Go?”

“‘Where Does the Light Go?’ is a purposely quirky pop celebration of fatherhood. Taking inspiration from the Talking Heads album Little Creatures, I tried to relay my experiences of lying next to my daughters at night while gently coaxing them to fall asleep. However, I was also conscious and curious enough to know I needed to allow that special, suspended space between falling asleep and sleep, for all the cosmic, creative questions of a child that can, and cannot be answered.”

20. “The Big Reveal”

“A jazzy funk bop. The song is inspired by the mind-blowing experience of witnessing the births of my two children. While listening to the lyrics, the listener may not pick up on that, as the poetry of the song is purposely both esoteric and expansive.”

Image and Artwork by Joe Tamel and George Kander

21. “Catholic Blues”

“A crunchy blues song about the horrors its title hints at. Having thrown off the shackles of the Catholic Church long ago, it allowed me to express a raw, blistering critique. However, at the end of the song, I do recognize that those in and outside the church, who are truly faithful, are also deeply hurt.”

22. “Ain’t Talkin’ ’Bout Love”

“This is the one cover song on the album. It is an intense, alternative, abstract rock take on the classic Van Halen song. With industrial vocals and searing guitars, it is one of the ‘turn it up to 11’ songs on the album.”

23. “Eternity”

“This is my attempt at writing an unabashed, beautiful love song that I hoped could be eternal, about eternal love. I have been told by many fans that they think it would make a great wedding song.”

24. “Constellations”

“‘Constellations’ is the album’s closer. Chosen because it is a sensual, Lou Reed-style track about reverently studying and exploring the details of your lover’s celestial body, and imagining that all the secrets of the universe lie within.”