"Immediately I am struck by the aggression of her new work. Helow has proved herself a solid songwriter in the neo-folk tradition, with lots of non-threatening strumming and sweet vocalizing. But right out of the gate on Past Lives, she lurches into “Savior or Sin” with an upbeat and dark acoustic picking pattern. It’s stark and striking, soon bleeding into distorted guitar blasts and thick bass accents, something that’s been absent from her previous work..." -John Citrone of Folio Weekly on 'Past Lives' Katie Grace Helow’s love affair with music goes back as far as she can remember. As early as 4 years old she was piecing together songs on her father’s piano, later taking a liking to drums and percussion, teaching herself guitar, and exploring her vocal abilities. Yet it’s only now, with her second full-length album on the horizon, that she’s ready to see how far this life-long passion can really take her. Her new album, “Past Lives,” is the result of several years of perfecting a collection of songs that reflect the pain and complexities of intimate relationships and self-analysis. Rarely one to reveal her vulnerabilities through social interaction, Helow uses her songs as an outlet for the raw emotion and uncomfortable truths that both haunt and inspire her. Favoring minor scales and open tunings, she sets the tone musically in order to delve into the dark corners of her listener’s brain, creating space for the intensity of the lyrical journey that follows. While this has always been the basis for her songwriting, as is apparent in the moody compositions of her 2009 debut solo album “On Time & The Ocean,” there’s an undeniably new energy to many of the tracks that make up “Past Lives.” With a more aggressive guitar style, more powerful vocals, and the attention-grabbing guitar riffs and vocal harmonies of accompanying musician Zach Lever, Helow makes it clear that she’s ready to be heard.  Over the years Katie Grace Helow has been in and recorded with many bands of diverse genres: as a guitar player for a punk band in high school, as a drummer for a hardcore band in college, and as a guest vocalist/musician for several friends’ bands in the years that followed. However, “Past Lives” is the first album to include full-band recordings of her own songs, made even more significant by the fact that Helow and Lever play all the instruments themselves. This is also the first time Helow has put out a record on vinyl. While she has been attracted to vinyl records ever since she learned how to use her parents’ turntable as a child, Helow held out until she was sure she had an album with worthy songwriting and recording quality. Her musical partnership with longtime friend Zach Lever, which blossomed shortly after the release of “On Time & The Ocean," was also integral in her decision to press “Past Lives” on vinyl. Having kept her original work solo for years, Lever was the first musician with whom Helow felt she could completely entrust her compositions. She found in him not only a skilled, versatile musician, but an ability to immediately understand her musical vision, and know just what was needed to help each song reach its fullest potential.