Walking away from something doesn't mean you've suddenly figured out where you're going.
That's something I've learned over the last year.
I've spent a lot of time writing songs about life, relationships, mistakes, growth, and everything in between. Some came from really difficult places. Others came from moments I wish I could bottle up and keep forever. And somewhere along the way, I realized that the stories I was telling were starting to change.
My last album, No Looking Back, was about finding the courage to let go of things that weren't right for me anymore. About recognizing when something wasn't working, accepting what you couldn't change, and finding the strength to move forward.
But what happens after that?
Because here's the thing. Moving forward doesn't mean you suddenly have all the answers. It doesn't mean you stop making mistakes, questioning decisions, or occasionally wondering what in the world you're doing.
I've had some incredible days this year. I've had some really difficult ones, too. I've made decisions I'm proud of and others I wish I'd handled differently. I've learned a lot about myself, about relationships, and about what actually matters to me.
And somewhere in the middle of all that, I started realizing something.
Maybe the goal isn't to have everything figured out.
Maybe it's just to keep growing, keep learning, and enjoy the life you're building along the way.
That's where Still Figuring It Out came from.
And on Saturday, October 31, it's yours to hear.
The Idea Behind the Album
I think we put way too much pressure on ourselves to have life figured out.
By a certain age, we're supposed to have the career, the relationships, the finances, the happiness, all of it. We're supposed to know who we are, what we want, and exactly where we're headed.
And when things don't go according to plan, it's easy to feel like we're somehow falling behind.
But behind who? And according to whose plan?
The older I get, the more I realize that nobody really has all the answers. We're all just doing the best we can with what we know at the time.
Sometimes we get it right. Sometimes we get it spectacularly wrong. Sometimes we make the same mistake twice, even after promising ourselves we wouldn't.
And sometimes, while we're so busy worrying about everything that isn't going according to plan, we forget to appreciate everything that's actually going pretty well.
The friends who show up. The conversations that turn into memories. The unexpected opportunities. The ordinary Tuesday that somehow turns into one of your favorite days.
The little things that, when you really think about it, aren't so little.
That's what this album is about.
Accepting that you're a work in progress, and recognizing that happiness doesn't have to wait until every problem is solved.
The title track probably says it best:
Every time I think I know
Life reminds me that I don't
And that's alright, I'm still figuring it out
I don't have all the answers. I probably never will.
But I'm a lot more comfortable admitting that today than I was ten years ago. And there's something pretty freeing about that.
Three Songs to Start With
One of my favorite things about this album is that it doesn't stay in one emotional place.
Some songs are reflective. Some are deeply personal. Others are just about having a good time and remembering that life is meant to be enjoyed.
If you're listening for the first time, here are three songs I'd start with.
Still Figuring It Out
This is the heart of the album.
I wanted to write something that acknowledged the mistakes I've made without turning every one of them into a regret.
Because the truth is, I wouldn't be the person I am today without some of those mistakes.
I've built some bridges. I've burned a few. I've made decisions that changed my life in ways I never expected. And I've occasionally wondered how I managed to make something so simple so complicated.
But I've also grown. I've learned to appreciate things I used to take for granted. I've gotten better at recognizing what matters and what doesn't deserve nearly as much of my energy.
I'm proud of how far I've come, even if I still have absolutely no idea what I'm doing some days.
What I love about this song is that it doesn't pretend there's some magical finish line where everything suddenly makes sense.
Maybe there isn't one.
Maybe that's okay.
Good at Being Alive
This one is just fun.
And I think that's important.
Not every song needs to be about heartbreak, some major life lesson, or overcoming something difficult. Sometimes you just need to roll the windows down, turn the music up, and enjoy being alive.
A little bit of nothing feels like enough
Some of my favorite memories aren't tied to some huge accomplishment.
They're ordinary nights with friends. A few drinks, some music, a good conversation that goes longer than anyone planned. An afternoon on the water. A spontaneous decision to go somewhere that turns into a story you'll tell for years.
Nothing particularly extraordinary happened, and somehow the whole thing was extraordinary.
We're always chasing the next thing. The next accomplishment, the next milestone, the next big moment.
And meanwhile, life is happening right in front of us.
I wanted this song to be a reminder to enjoy it.
Not someday. Not when everything is perfect.
Right now.
Some Things Don't Need Fixing
This one comes from a more personal place.
One of the biggest lessons I've learned about relationships is that there's a difference between growing together and trying to change someone into who you think they should be.
We don't have to be perfect to make it through
Relationships take effort. They take patience, compromise, communication, and a willingness to admit when you're wrong.
And sometimes they're really hard.
But love shouldn't feel like a never-ending renovation project.
You can love someone and still disagree with them. You can encourage someone to grow without making them feel like who they are today isn't enough. You can recognize someone's imperfections without making those imperfections the center of your relationship.
And that goes both ways.
I've learned that understanding someone doesn't always mean agreeing with them. Sometimes it means accepting that they see the world differently, and deciding that the difference doesn't have to become a problem.
Some things really don't need fixing.
Sometimes they just need understanding, patience, and a little room to breathe.
The Most Personal Song on the Album
If I had to pick the song that means the most to me, it would probably be I'm Not Perfect (But I'm Me).
There's something a little uncomfortable about writing a song that forces you to look at yourself so directly.
It's easy to write about the things other people have done. It's a lot harder to acknowledge the ways you've contributed to your own difficult moments.
This song is about the difference between having good intentions and always getting things right.
Because those aren't the same thing.
You can genuinely care about someone and still disappoint them. You can mean well and still handle a situation poorly. You can love someone and still struggle to show it in the way they need.
I've certainly done all three.
Sometimes I react when I should listen. Sometimes I overthink things. Sometimes I shut down when I should communicate.
Those are things I recognize about myself, and things I continue to work on.
But I've also learned that being a work in progress doesn't make you less deserving of love, happiness, or a little grace.
You shouldn't have to become an entirely different person to be enough. And you shouldn't expect that of someone else, either.
That doesn't mean we get to excuse our mistakes or avoid taking responsibility for the ways our actions affect people.
Quite the opposite.
I think part of accepting who you are is being willing to acknowledge where you need to do better.
But there's a difference between wanting to become a better version of yourself and feeling like the person you are today will never be good enough.
I wrote this song because I think a lot of people know what that feels like.
It's not an excuse for being imperfect.
It's an acknowledgment that I am.
And that I'm still trying.
Ten Songs, Different Sides of Life
The album has ten tracks, and while they all connect to the same bigger idea, they don't all tell the same kind of story.
There's a little bit of everything here.
A Hell of a Story is a title that captures something I find myself thinking about more often these days. Life doesn't always unfold the way you expected, but that doesn't mean the unexpected chapters weren't worth living.
We Were Young Once brings another side of the album into focus. There's something about getting older that makes you appreciate the people, places, and moments that helped shape you. Not necessarily because you want to go back, but because you're grateful you got to experience them.
And Let The World Spin feels like a fitting way to close an album about accepting life's uncertainty. The world is going to keep moving whether you've figured everything out or not. You might as well find some joy in the ride.
Some of these songs look backward. Others are firmly planted in the present. And a few are about looking ahead without needing to know exactly what comes next.
That's intentional.
Because life isn't just the difficult parts, and it isn't just the happy parts.
It's all of it.
The Tracklist
Still Figuring It Out, Harbor Vale
- Good at Being Alive
- Some Things Don't Need Fixing
- I'm Not Perfect (But I'm Me)
- Still Figuring It Out
- A Hell of a Story
- The Weight of Yesterday
- More Than Enough
- Right Where I'm Supposed To Be
- We Were Young Once
- Let The World Spin
Ten songs about being human, making mistakes, appreciating the good stuff, and realizing that maybe life is a lot better when you stop expecting it to be perfect.
From No Looking Back to Still Figuring It Out
When I look at these two albums together, I see two different chapters of the same life.
No Looking Back was about recognizing that sometimes the healthiest thing you can do is move forward.
It was about letting go of expectations, relationships, and versions of your future that weren't going to happen the way you'd imagined.
And that's hard.
Sometimes we hold on to things long after they've stopped making us happy, simply because we've invested so much of ourselves in them.
But eventually you realize that moving forward isn't the same thing as giving up.
Sometimes it's the bravest thing you can do.
Still Figuring It Out picks up after that realization.
Because once you've made the difficult decisions, life doesn't suddenly become simple.
You still have to figure out what comes next.
You still have relationships to navigate, mistakes to learn from, and moments when you question whether you're doing any of it right.
But you also have new experiences. New memories. New reasons to laugh. New opportunities to become someone you're proud of.
I've learned that you can miss something without wanting it back.
You can acknowledge the past without letting it control your future.
And you can be grateful for where you've been while being genuinely excited about where you're going.
If No Looking Back was about finding the courage to move forward, Still Figuring It Out is about learning to enjoy the journey, even when you don't know exactly where it's taking you.
They're different albums, with different sounds and different emotions.
But to me, they belong together.
Putting These Songs Into the World
There's something both exciting and a little uncomfortable about releasing music that's this personal.
When you write a song about something you've experienced, you know exactly what the words mean to you. You remember the moments, the conversations, the people, and sometimes the feelings you'd rather forget.
But once you release it, those words don't belong exclusively to your experience anymore.
Someone else might hear the same song and think about a completely different relationship. A different mistake. A different chapter of their life.
A lyric that came from one of my difficult moments might help someone else make sense of theirs.
Or maybe they'll just put on Good at Being Alive, turn it up a little too loud, and have a great afternoon.
I'm perfectly happy with that, too.
I think that's one of the things I love most about music.
You write something because it means something to you, and then you put it out into the world hoping it might mean something to somebody else.
I've written a lot of songs over the past year, and every one of them has a reason for existing. Some stories are easier to share than others.
But I'm glad I'm sharing them.
And I'm excited for you to hear this next chapter.
How to Listen
Still Figuring It Out is available October 31 on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music, Amazon Music, and wherever you listen to music.
Pre-save or listen to Still Figuring It Out
If you're new to Harbor Vale, I'd actually encourage you to start with No Looking Back and then listen to this album.
I think you'll hear the connection between them.
And if you've been listening for a while, thank you.
Whether you've streamed one song, shared a clip with a friend, added something to a playlist, or followed every release, I genuinely appreciate you giving this music a place in your life.
I've also started sharing more of the stories behind individual songs here on the website. Every song has its own history, and I'm looking forward to telling more of those stories.
Explore the Stories Behind the Songs
Still Figuring It Out, and That's Okay
I'm not the same person I was when I started writing these songs.
I've changed my mind about things. I've learned some lessons the hard way. I've become more appreciative of the people who show up for me, the moments that make me happy, and the opportunities I have to build a life I genuinely enjoy.
And hopefully, a year from now, I'll be able to say I've grown even more.
That's kind of the point.
I don't think growing up means eventually reaching some age where you have all the answers.
I think it means becoming a little more comfortable with the questions.
It means learning when to hold on and when to let go. When to fight for something and when to accept that something isn't meant for you. When to take yourself seriously and when to laugh at how ridiculous life can be.
And maybe most importantly, it means remembering to enjoy the good things while they're happening, instead of only appreciating them once they're gone.
So here's to growing up without getting old. To making mistakes without letting them define us. To appreciating the people who make our lives better. And to remembering that life doesn't have to be perfect to be pretty damn good.
I'm still figuring it out.
And I'm pretty okay with that.
Thanks for listening.
Harbor Vale
