Every Third Thought

08 December, 2017

ALBUM RELEASE DATE/FREE TRACK

We are excited to announce that Every Third Thought will be released digitally on January 26th, 2018!

As a special holiday thank you for all the Pledgers that have shown their support, we are gifting each of you an exclusive download of “Stay on the Train,” an unreleased track from David’s first album, Hell or Highwater.

“It’s a song I wrote for my daughter during a tough time. I just meant to tell her not to give up, that things are never as good or as bad as they seem. And I love trains.”

Stay tuned for the album art reveal next week! We can’t wait for everyone to see it!

David Duchovny: Every Third Thought update: ALBUM RELEASE DATE/FREE TRACK https://t.co/yIC0r7av4j #rock

— PledgeMusic Updates (@PMUpdates) 8 de dezembro de 2017

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David Duchovny To Release Sophomore Album: Every Third Thought Feb. 9th

RJ Frometa

David Duchovny will release his second album Every Third Thought on February 9th via King Baby/GMG. Every Third Thought moves away from the folkier vibe of the debut set into more rock territory. Recorded at Atomic Sound in Brooklyn in December 2016, the album showcases Duchovny’s storytelling and playing:  “I feel like this Album presents a real growth lyrically and musically from the first and I can’t wait to get it out there.”

The album will be initially released digitally and on streaming services with plans for CD and vinyl to be announced soon.

It is surprising to know that David Duchovny only picked up a guitar a few years ago in a spell of free time, between projects, at first just to amuse himself but as he started playing, felt inspired to start writing songs. He grew up listening to classic late 60’s early 70’s rock: The Beatles, The Who, Rolling Stones, Yes etc… along with a lot of funk which he aspires to play, joking he’ll need to become a better musician to do so.

David Duchovny is best known as an award winning actor, director and novelist starring in the smash TV series The X-Files (winning a Golden Globe for the role.) His first novel Holy Cow was released by Farrar Straus and Giroux in February 2015 and hit the New York Times Best Sellers’ list.  This was followed up by his second novel, Bucky F*cking Dent, which also hit the New York Times Best Sellers’ list, and was released globally in 2016.

In 2015, David completed his first studio album for for ThinkSay Records titled Hell or Highwater  touring both Europe and the US in support.

David reprised his award winning role as Fox Mulder January 3rd on The X-Files. His third book, Miss Subways, will be released globally in May of 2018, and David is planning on Directing and Producing his novel, Bucky F*cking Dent into a film summer of 2018. He also plans to hit the road in support of his new album, first in Australia and New Zealand in February with U.S. plans to be announced soon.

Every Third Thought Tracklisting:

1. Half Life
2. Every Third Thought
3. Maybe I Can’t
4. Stranger in the Sacred Heart
5. Mo’
6. Someone Else’s Girl
7. When the Whistle Blows
8. Spiral
9. Roman Coin
10. Jericho
11. Last First Time
12. Marble Sun

Tour Dates:  

Feb 20 – Auckland, NZ

Feb 21 – Wellington, NZ

Feb 23 – Melbourne, AU

Feb 24 – Sydney, AU

Feb 25 – Wollongong, AU

Feb 28 – Newcastle, AU

March 1 – Brisbane, AU

David Duchovny To Release Sophomore Album: Every Third Thought Feb. 9th https://t.co/BhHE0ugNHc pic.twitter.com/tCzmWTZcDl

— Vents Magazine (@ventsmagazine) 4 de janeiro de 2018

David Duchovny Details New Album 'Every Third Thought'

"I feel like this album presents a real growth lyrically and musically from the first," musician-actor says


David Duchovny will release his sophomore album, 'Every Third Thought,' next month. Miquel Benitez/Getty

By Althea Legaspi
13 minutes ago

David Duchovny has announced the release of his sophomore album, Every Third Thought. The follow-up to 2015's Hell or Highwater, the new 12-song set will be released on February 9th via King Baby/GMG.

According to a statement, the new material eschews the folky vibe of the musician-actor's debut LP and moves into a more rock direction. It will first be released digitally and on streaming services before becoming available on CD and vinyl.

"I feel like this album presents a real growth lyrically and musically from the first and I can't wait to get it out there," Duchovny said in a statement.

Duchovny's musical aspirations are a relatively recent development. In 2015, Duchovny told Rolling Stone he first picked up the guitar just a few years prior to amuse himself and he began with the classics. "The Beatles, Lou Reed, the Band, Petty — classic white-guy rock," he said, naming artists whose songs he first learned to play on guitar. "I love Seventies funk, but I'm not good enough to play it yet. So hopefully, within the next year or so, I'll get my jazzy chords and come out with a little Sly and the Family Stone tribute album."

Following the release of Every Third Thought, he will embark on a tour through New Zealand and Australia with U.S. dates to follow. In the meantime, he's starring in the 11th season of The X-Files, which premiered on Wednesday on Fox.

Every Third Thought Track List

1. "Half Life"
2. "Every Third Thought"
3. "Maybe I Can't"
4. "Stranger in the Sacred Heart"
5. "Mo'"
6. "Someone Else's Girl"
7. "When the Whistle Blows"
8. "Spiral"
9. "Roman Coin"
10. "Jericho"
11. "Last First Time"
12. "Marble Sun"

David Duchovny details new album 'Every Third Thought' https://t.co/m9qTVdaQ8h pic.twitter.com/nRdRcOinrj

— Rolling Stone (@RollingStone) 5 de janeiro de 2018

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youreadarkwizard:

every third thought on those arms, tbh

02 February, 2018

Every Third Thought Lyric Book

Let’s start the countdown, 7 days to #EveryThirdThought. Get ready to sing along with a handwritten lyric book!

David Duchovny: Every Third Thought update: Every Third Thought Lyric Book https://t.co/f8wIi69b5O #rock

— PledgeMusic Updates (@PMUpdates) 2 de fevereiro de 2018

Review: Listen to David Duchovny, wish for alien abduction

By MARK KENNEDY
34 minutes ago

David Duchovny, “Every Third Thought” (King Baby/GMG)

In an upcoming episode of “The X-Files,” Fox Mulder gets mixed up with some paranormal forces and somehow believes he’s a rock ‘n’ roll god. No, wait. That’s not a TV show. It’s apparently real life for David Duchovny.

Duchovny ditches his day job chasing aliens on television to release his 12-track sophomore effort, “Every Third Thought,” an album of pretty good rock songs marred by perhaps the worst vocal performances ever captured digitally.

This album is like listening to the tired and tipsy stragglers of an office party ending up at a karaoke bar at 3 a.m. when that weird dude from accounts payable grabs the mic to live out his rock dreams in a beer-induced semi-coma.

Duchovny has a horrifically thin voice, unable to modulate, unable to show any emotion, unable to hold a note. It doesn’t go up or down. It just sits there croaking like a dying frog. He hasn’t improved since his debut 2015 album, “Hell or Highwater,” which we gave him a pass on because, hey, everyone makes mistakes.

But the second one is a blemish on a really good band, including multi-instrumentalists Colin Lee, Pat McCusker and Mitchell Stewart — who also serve as the producers — and Sebastian Modak on drums. They deserve better. Forget the truth: a true vocalist is out there, guys.

Duchovny’s lyrics seem designed to either make nerdy folks swoon with references to ancient Rome and science — “Matter decays exponentially/ Half-lives await us all eventually” — or make them wince (“I’ll slap the cuffs on the hands of time” and “When it comes to bliss, I’m a communist”).

In “’Mo,” he has the gall to criticize our insatiable hunger for everything, from cars to love: “Everybody always wants the cream at the top/ But nobody knows when to stop.” Thanks, David, it’s always nice for a one-time sex addict to lecture us on conspicuous consumption.

Credit to Duchovny for co-writing all the songs, which range from the Tom Petty-ish title romp to the brassy foot-stomper “Someone Else’s Girl.” The band’s rock chops drive “When the Whistle Blows” and “Roman Coin,” but the guy in front is so bad you start to laugh.

Duchovny gets into even more serious trouble when he slows things down. The ballad “Maybe I Can’t” is agonizing, like listening to an under-rehearsed third grader pushed onstage for a talent show. “Spiral” is a guitar-heavy, jammy tune horribly disfigured by one thing — Duchovny.

Is it clear yet? Dude. Can’t. Sing. Make him stop.

Send in the aliens.

Music Review: Listen to David Duchovny’s new album, wish for alien abduction (from @AP) #DavidDuchovny https://t.co/OqAfwZguJ1

— Mark Kennedy (@KennedyTwits) 5 de fevereiro de 2018

Ouch.

David Duchovny gives Track by Track breakdown of his new album, Every Third Thought: Stream

The Golden Globe-winning actor returns with one hell of a sophomore album

by Michael Roffman
on February 06, 2018, 3:07pm



Track by Track is a recurring new music feature in which an artist offers a comprehensive rundown of their new album.

David Duchovny is a jack of all trades. He acts, he writes, he directs, and, yes, he plays music. Now, nearly three years after he dropped his full-length debut, 2015’s Hell or Highwater, the Golden Globe-winning actor returns with Every Third Thought.

Due out February 9th via King Baby/GMG, the sophomore album offers a strikingly intimate portrait of Duchovny, who meditates on his late father and past relationships through songs like “Stranger in the Sacred Heart”, “Jericho”, and “Half Life”.

Below, you can stream the incredible album ahead of its release and read our exclusive Track by Track interview with Duchovny. You’ll quickly see he’s just as sharp and intuitive as he traditionally is on screen in The X-Files, Californication, et al.



“Half Life”:
I’m not a scientific person, but I guess I’ve written poetry in my life that’s sometimes been inspired by scientific notions. I’ve seen that science and poetry inhabit the same territory. I’ve heard researchers who have made scientific discoveries talk about how it’s often a poetic leap that leads them there, and not necessarily a rational way to get to what they’ve discovered or created.

I think we all know the Heisenberg principal — that you can’t look at a thing without affecting it; you can’t measure something without changing what you’re measuring; the idea that perception is actually an impediment to seeing something clearly — and to me that was always a poem, that principle is a poem.

Or Schrodinger’s cat. Or Zeno’s paradox, where in order to get somewhere, you have to get halfway there first. But you have to get halfway to halfway, and halfway to halfway, and it’s obvious that you can never get anywhere if you keep going half that distance. There will always be another half, it’s very Kafka-esque.

These are thought experiments in a way. To me, these are the kind of things that happen when I hear something about science. And I’m way too stupid to understand these things scientifically, but I can kind of apprehend them poetically. That’s kind of what happened with “Half Life”. Somewhere along the line, even though I haven’t had much psychics, I heard about that term, ‘half-life,’ with the K of the radioactive half-life.

This is a song that’s kind of about divorce, about losing somebody that you’ve been with for a long time. Divorce being half and half, you split things half and half. And also, it could be half way through your life, it could be a midway song. It just kind of struck me to speak about these emotional issues in a scientific way. On the surface, it would make it kind of emotionless, but somehow through the alchemy of music make it emotional.

“Every Third Thought”:
It’s a little bit about obsession, but also a rut one can get into in love or out of love or just in life. Where you’re living your life and doing your thing, and you have that thought and you have another thought, and then every third thought is on that thing that’s really obsessing you. So, it’s kind of about that. And the singer is questioning when am I gonna change? When am I gonna have a new thought? When am I not gonna have every third thought on you? I see the seasons changing, but I remain the same.

What I like about lyric writing is that you never have to come down specifically on what you mean. And sometimes the necessity of rhyming is going to push you places that you might not normally go. You’ll change your thought in order to hit that rhyme and I love having to do that. I think [“Every Third Thought”] is more about wanting the change to come, wanting the change on the inside to marry the change on the outside – like, when am I going to turn the album over?

“Maybe I Can’t”:
I’d say I’m a spiritual person in the sense that if I’m any kind of religion I’d be a Buddhist maybe. My conception of god comes mostly from my history of being an English literature major. So much of English literature, at least until this century, comes out of the Bible and with people struggling. So much of Shakespeare is informed by the Bible. So, the Bible is always a text, I always read it as a text as my work for an English major. So, I’m pretty well acquainted with the Bible, but not really as a worshipper but more as a reader.


“Stranger in the Sacred Heart”:
If you had to ask me if I had a song that says something like who am I or what do I believe in it would be [“Stranger in the Sacred Heart”]. We were touring in Europe and we were playing in Paris. I woke up the day we were going to play that night — my father had died in Paris in 2003 and this was a decade or so later or whatever — and I was staying near the Sacré-Cœur Basilica. I’d heard about it, so we walked up the sail and I was told that the tradition is that people pray there for the world, not for themselves or their friends. It’s not like this self-interested prayer, but more for humanity in general.

I was like, “That’s true religion.” I really like that as opposed to what I get in America, which is like I’m praying for a new car, I’m praying for a house. So, just dealing with the idea that maybe I hadn’t really come to terms with my father’s death or I had never really honored him in his own adopted city that he died in. And then this idea of taking up somebody else’s point of view, which is kind of what you do when you pray at the Sacred Heart … that’s what informed that. I even wanted to name the album that, but they were like, “Oh, they’re going to think it’s a Christian album.” [Laughs.]

“Mo’”:
Anybody who’s self-deprecating can be seen as using that as a way to not be self-deprecating. What do they call it, ‘humble bragging’? I come more from my dad’s side — the Jewish side — where I’m honestly self-loathing. So, it’s not only self-deprecating, it’s like, I’m telling you the truth, I suck. [“Mo'”] came out of that thought: if less is more is the converse true? If more is less, what does that mean? So, the song started out as a let’s all be happy for what we have. If less is more, we can be happy for not having a lot. But then, me, I’ve been given a lot in this life. I have more. So, if more is less well I’m really blessed.

There were all these counterintuitive thoughts going on, but it really was about trying to look soberly at what we have and ask if that’s enough … and it probably is. Musically, that was always a Fleetwood Mac song. I told my bassist that I even had the bass line in my head. But, the way that I play is so ham-fisted that I was hitting my bass strings as I was strumming it and it was creating a bass line. And then I said, “You know that classic, air-tight Fleetwood Mac production sound…”

“Someone Else’s Girl”:
There’s a type of rock ‘n’ roll song where the guy comes after your girl, and [“Someone Else’s Girl”] is in that genre. It’s a playful song and when it came time to produce it, we definitely were thinking of a Beatles vibe like “Octopus’s Garden”. 

It was a freewheelin’ experience. I was just hearing all these rhymes and I hadn’t heard “bliss” rhymed with “communist.” Basically, I’m just saying I want everyone to get there, I want everyone to be happy, I don’t want to rain on anybody’s parade.

But the song is really about one guy lusting after another guy’s girl, it’s that song. It’s still that song, but the guy has gotta make excuses first before he says, “I’m coming after your girl.” He has to say, “Well, I’m not this kind of guy.”


“When the Whistle Blows”:
There’s a swagger in the song, but the guy is in bad shape. He’s been asked to stay away, but he can’t move on, he can’t move. He’s not in good shape. So, he’s basically saying, “Things aren’t working out for me this way, but I do acknowledge that I’m in the place I gotta be, but just know that I’m the guy to count on. When it’s all over, I’ll still be standing here.” So, it’s kind of making that promise. Like, I acknowledge that this thing is over, but you can still rely on me. [The heavy vibe] was a surprise to me, that was something the band came up with, but the lyrics are heavy and the chorus feels somewhat hopeful. So, it’s kind of pushing in two different ways, which I like.

“Spiral”:
I didn’t write this song. That’s the one song I had nothing to do with on the album. But the band pitched it to me, and I was like, “Ooh, I like it.” I didn’t write a word, didn’t write a note. But I do like the way the drums come in at the end. We had just been rehearsing to tour, and I’d never played it before live and it’ll be a really good song live.

“Roman Coin”:
I’m always reading, so things stick to me. [“Roman Coin”] came to me right after we were touring. The image was just of ending your life and meeting your maker or whatever and accounting for your life, then feeling like a weight still bringing you back down to Earth for some reason, like something was unfinished or undone.

The idea was I saw this coin in my pocket, it was weighing me down, but then that became this love as well. Then you have all these congruences between money and love being like a currency, drawing the differences and the similarities between the two and how a coin passes from hand to hand and that we have histories as lovers and things like that.

I like the idea of tossing the coin into the fountain at the end.


“Jericho”:
“Jericho” is a dialogue with my father. He was Jewish, but I’d say he was more culturally Jewish. I went to Episcopalian school, so even before I had to read the Bible as an English major, I had to read the Bible for Bible class, and I sang those hymns: “Joshua fought the battle of Jericho and the walls came tumbling down.”

So, it’s all in me and it came out in the song. The idea of having two different kinds of horns: You’ve got the horn of destruction at Jericho, that’s able to knock walls down. Then you’ve got Gabriel’s horn, like the rebirth, the kind of karmic horn.

In relation to my dad, every son has points of contention with their parents, and with me becoming a dad myself, all these things were coming into play. There’s the destructive part of me and the healing, rebirthing part.

It was putting these things into play.

“Last First Time”:
You run out of last first times as you get older, I guess, because you’ve tried certain things. I think this is a real Springsteen kind of song, especially the pre-chorus. To me, that was the Springsteen I grew up loving; he used to write these kinds of really big pre-choruses where you make all these huge claims for yourself. Like calling out East of Eden and saying something like “north of our youth,” just shit like that — really confident, lyrically confident. I just felt like it was a ’70s song and I was very sure of what I was trying to say the whole time. So, it’s of a piece. Lyrically, I think it’s strong and has a good vibe.

“Marble Sun”:
The first verse, the melody, and the music was written by Colin Lee, who produces and plays piano and some guitar in my band. He had come to me and said, “I would love for this to end the album,” and gave me the first verse. I was like, “This is a beautiful song, it shouldn’t just be a snippet like this. It doesn’t need to be a big deal, but it could be a song. It doesn’t have to be a fragment.” So, I wrote the second verse, and we just put it together like that.

When I sing, “I am walking on,” I don’t see it as walking away, I see it as persevering. I love the line, “I see the setting sun and you’re not the only one dying all day long.” You know, every day we watch the sun rise and fall, and we can take solace from that. We do walk on. So, it’s not really like moving on, it’s more like, I’m still going to put one foot in front of the other.


Consequence of Sound

The one and only @davidduchovny walks us through his new album Every Third Thought, which you can exclusive stream via @Consequence. This was a lot of fun putting together: https://t.co/yixmwO8GTk

— Michael Roffman (@michaelroffman) 6 de fevereiro de 2018

February 5, 2018

David Duchovny – Every Third Thought (Album Review)

Lisa Whealy



Sometimes really talented individuals find themselves making art in another medium from where they initially began. Such is the case with David Duchovny, a guy who picked up guitar in his downtime, who is now set to digitally release Every Third Thought via King Baby/GMG on Friday, February 9, 2018 with physical CD and vinyl releases to follow.

Contrary to his first release, 2015’s Hell or High Water, with its Folk vibe, this latest album offers up a more Rock feeling, tripping in with simplistic, artistic choices lyrically blending the two. As a songwriter, Duchovny has stayed true to himself; a truly refreshing characteristic for a modern musician. The album was recorded at Atomic Sound in Brooklyn, New York, and one of the most refreshing aspects listeners might hear is the essence of bands like the Byrds in Duchovny’s music.

The twelve songs included on this latest release are a satisfying blend of Indie Rock that pulls in influences from the best of 1960s and 1970s Rock. Rolling in with “Half Life,” the songwriter shines with interesting lyricism hooked into a simple, straightforward song structure; this is not rocket-science but it is toe-tapping Rock for sure. Working from there into the title track, “Every Third Thought,” it is apparent that Duchovny is a talent regardless of what creative outlet he is working in. With a more haunting vibe than the previous track, this cut has a message; reflecting back, the rearview mirror is always broken. Definitely cool musically, this song has Soul.

“Maybe I Can’t” eases into that softer side of the artist, taking a step back. Lyrically, this song could have had more depth, and musically it is too stripped with no soul; there are some positives here but it feels rather self-indulgent for listeners. A third of the way through, “Stranger in the Sacred Heart” brings back a more interesting instrumentation with violin to support the vocals. Emotionally building, creating energy and heightened expectation as the song grows, there is some great guitar work here, creating a track that is a single in itself.

Shifting back into that Folk feel, “‘Mo” is a stellar piece of songwriting. A flash of troubadour in this simple unadorned message, the lyrics say it all: less can be more and often that is best. This is the wheelhouse where Duchovny shines! Sticking with that success, “Someone Else’s Girl” is musical storytelling at its finest, angst and ache but all about the what if. The best parts of Every Third Thought are the cuts that find a voice that is authentic, this being one.

Heading back towards heavier Rock, “When the Whistle Blows” could have been grittier, thus offering up a more satisfying track. “Spiral” shifts back to that great stuff that Duchovny lays out for listeners; with some stellar guitar work this song sings, highlighting a withdrawn vocal delivery that is a trip. Mixing the tempo up with “Roman Coin,” this may be one of the best written songs lyrically and, from start to finish, the story works.

Embracing the Indie Folk Rock voice, “Jericho” oozes emotions both beautiful and poignant. At the end of the album, listeners get a painting for the ears: the metaphor driven “Last First Time” is stunning songwriting, enough said. This is the stuff that creates careers in music, for certain! Putting a punctuation mark on David Duchovny’s Every Third Thought, “Marble Sun” is the perfect last thought for listeners to have when it comes to the sophomore release from this actor and musician. Achingly beautiful it begs for another visit, and listeners will comply!

A meandering journey that embraces Folk, Rock, and stellar storytelling, Duchovny’s second offering is a wonderful experience for fans and new listeners alike. With lovely guitar work, an attention to detail, and, sure, a few slight misses, Every Third Thought deserves punctuation for its wonderfully oozing heart and humble soul. Some men can do it all! For these reasons, CrypticRock gives Every Third Thought 4 out of 5 stars.




Cryptic Rock

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We all know why this review of David Duchovny’s album exists

Sean O'Neal
Today 11:00am


Photo: Larry French/Getty Images

With few exceptions, whenever an actor decides to embark on a music career, that music will inevitably be a sort of wistful, meat-and-potatoes roots rock. It doesn’t take an imaginary degree in pop psychology to understand this. Movie stardom is a fake and fluffy business; the amount of pretense and preening involved can be downright embarrassing at times. So when actors—and this phenomenon predominantly applies to the men—decide they’d rather pick up a guitar and sing for a while, they naturally gravitate to a gritty, unadorned Americana, the kind that captures the salt-of-the-earth, dive-bar lifestyle they’ve forever opted out of.



Every Third Thought

Artist
David Duchovny

Label
King Baby/GMG

Hence: Russell Crowe’s 30 Odd Foot Of Grunts. Kevin Bacon’s The Bacon Brothers. Kevin Costner’s Kevin Costner & Modern West. Dennis Quaid’s Dennis Quaid And The Sharks. Billy Bob Thornton and Kiefer Sutherland’s, uh, Billy Bob Thornton and Kiefer Sutherland. And so on. For dudes who spend their whole lives being pampered in makeup trailers, the dusty, rootsy side project offers a chance to put on a pair of faded blue jeans and prove that, deep down, you’re just a beer-drinking, Dylan-and-Petty-and-Cash-worshipping regular guy. And look, there’s nothing inherently wrong with that. Sure, maybe it’s just another form of play-acting, but perhaps no more so than the illusion undertaken by your own hometown’s crop of thoroughly average, yet unrealistically ambitious bar bands.

The only difference there, of course, is the wildly disproportionate attention that’s afforded them by the media and fans—fans who sometimes even buy their CDs while defensively declaring them “actually pretty good” in their five-star Amazon reviews. Or anyway, they’re not bad. They’ve definitely heard worse. And whereas most people might see some self-indulgent vanity project, well, they know the music is in his heart, and that these raspy, earnest songs are who he really is inside. When it comes down to it, this is the same transactional, illusory emotional connection that’s created by every dude who’s ever picked up an acoustic guitar. It’s just that this particular dude happens to be a millionaire on hiatus between shoots, who can afford top-flight producers and endless studio hours.

The other difference is what you’re reading right now, a review of a famous actor’s album that is designed to attract one of two audiences: 1) those aforementioned diehards, who will show up to circle the wagons and lambast the reviewer for talking about everything but the music, then call out his self-evident bitterness, failed dreams, and myriad other reasons for not objectively, critically offering it its unreserved praise; and 2) those driven by a semi-morbid curiosity, perhaps looking for a quick hit of schadenfreude and the reassurance that wealthy, famous, attractive people can’t be stars at everything. In some cases, that review may even supplant other actual, in-depth articles on more talented bands whose only real demerit is that they don’t have a TV star in them. The sad, mercenary truth at play is that this is just how it works. It’s the most extreme version of why the pageviews on a music review for someone you’ve already heard of will always be 10 times that of one for a more deserving, yet unknown artist. It’s why the comments for our monthly album previews inevitably have someone sneering, “You just made all these bands up.” It’s why you clicked. It is a mutually beneficial parasitic relationship, and it’s what keeps the celebrity band ecosystem humming.

Anyway, to David Duchovny’s credit, he’s more honest about exploiting that system of privilege—and his own rock dilettantism—than most. In interviews surrounding the release of his 2015 debut, Hell Or Highwater, the actor was humbly self-effacing, admitting that, y’know, he’d really only picked up the guitar a few years ago, in the wake of his divorce from Téa Leoni. He also confessed that, hey, he knows he’s not that great of a singer, and that his music is almost completely derivative of the “classic white-guy rock” canon. It’s an ingratiating, very smart way of lowering expectations: “I’m saying here’s something I did,” Duchovny told Rolling Stone. “If you like it, take it with you. And if you don’t, maybe I’ll do it again, and hopefully you’ll like that one.” (Though, of course, at the same time, he’s saying all this to Rolling Fucking Stone. Do you have any idea how many struggling bands would kill to announce their debut album—let alone the follow-up, after that one was met with a collective shrug—in Rolling Stone?)



Duchovny did do it again. His sophomore album, Every Third Thought, is another collection of perfectly serviceable famous-dad-rock, once again delivered with the aw-shucks shrug of a guy who clearly had fun making it in between seasons of The X-Files. If you liked Duchovny’s first album—if you thought it was actually pretty good or, anyway, not bad—then chances are you will feel equally okay with this one, an album that firmly stays that middlebrow course. It is once again squarely pitched at the loyal fan base of people who like Duchovny’s face, whatever it happens to be doing, and it’s difficult to imagine it bringing in new listeners outside of that dedicated circle. Not unless you’ve been pining for a slightly less interesting Wilco, preferably featuring the guy from Californication.

In that spirit, here’s a review you can also take or leave. Duchovny has billed Every Third Thought as “a real growth lyrically and musically,” and while the latter is debatable—there is certainly more music, in the form of mountains of overdubs—the former is most evident in the way Duchovny, who boasts a masters in English literature, has shoehorned in far more pretentious biblical references and tortured metaphors this time around. “If you come back to me / I’ll slap the cuffs on the hands of time / Or maybe I can’t, but I’ll try,” goes one sort-of couplet (“Maybe I Can’t”). “Like a Roman coin in my pocket / Your love weighs me down from above,” goes the refrain of another. (That one’s called “Roman Coin.”) On lead single “Half Life,” Duchovny calls upon archaeology, the sexiest of the sciences, to muse, “Unconditional love decays / Only fossilized hearts can break / Every piece is indivisible.” It’s the kind of overwrought romantic poetry that’s long called star-crossed lovers back to one another, across oceans of time and the Laurel Canyon, and maybe it’ll make Tim Daly uncomfortable.

But Duchovny’s concerns here aren’t just of the fossil-hearted. He also gets somberly worldly, in a skimming-CNN-then-staring-meaningfully-out-the-airplane-window sort of way: “Famine, ignorance, and war / I keep just outside my door / It’s just me, myself, and I / I let it slide,” he laments, I guess, on the incredibly titled “Stranger In The Sacred Heart.” (I’ve listened to this song several times now, and I’m still unsure whether “The Sacred Heart” is symbolism or a hotel.) Elsewhere, he goes full-on, trapped-in-101-traffic existential with “Mo Revised”: “How many cars can you drive? / How many lives before you feel alive?” (…Six?)



Still, while Every Third Thought’s prevailing themes are regret, rich-guy ennui, and really fucking up with Téa Leoni, that doesn’t mean it’s a front-to-back sad affair. Things loosen up considerably in the middle section around “Someone Else’s Gal” (whose chorus, by the way, clearly says, “Someone else’s girl”), where Duchovny lays down a slinky, funky ode to rolling down the Free Love Freeway, the kind that might, say, lead you to rehab for sex addiction. “When it comes to bliss, I’m a communist,” Duchovny sings of his spread-it-around sexual philosophy, before offering an epic come-on that Paul Stanley might envy: “Baby, I’m a loaded gun / But I ain’t got no bullets / Just a magazine of fun.”

These are terrible lyrics, and they’re delivered in a flat, hesitant voice that still strains to hold a note over an expensive-sounding, slide guitar-heavy stew of the best studio musicianship DVD royalties can buy. But again, Duchovny’s earnest, affable approach to the whole endeavor makes Every Third Thought difficult to outright mock, let alone hate. Its ambitions are too commendably modest, its doin’-my-thing goals far too relatable. When the album’s most straightforwardly rocking track, “When The Whistle Blows,” fades out over its chunky guitar riff, you can hear a bit of studio chatter that’s broken up by gales of laughter. These are people who are having a good time—regular guys just blowing off some steam, enjoying each other’s company, cooking up some tunes. There are certainly worse ways David Duchovny could be spending his off-hours. Also, The X-Files is a really good show.

And so, there it sits on the shelf—a record predestined for BuzzFeed listicles of “Celebrities You Never Realized Released Albums” that no one will actually, sincerely spin outside of Duchovny’s staff and most ardent admirers, or whatever model happens to be in his car when it shuffles up on his stereo, Duchovny feigning embarrassment while he sneaks looks to see if she’s digging it. She thinks it’s pretty good, actually! Or anyway, it’s not bad. Most importantly, it’s David Duchovny.


AV Club

David Duchovny’s Second Album Every Third Thought Out Today

February 9, 2018 Bernard Cana

February 9th, 2018 – New York, NY: David Duchovny’s new album Every Third Thought is out today (King Baby/GMG.)  This is the follow up to Duchovny’s music debut, 2015’s Hell or Highwater.

Recorded at Atomic Sound Brooklyn in December 2016 and late 2017. The album is available in digital format and on streaming services with plans for CD and vinyl to be announced soon.

Check out Every Third Thought on Consequence Of Sound

David Duchovny gives Track by Track breakdown of his new album, Every Third Thought: Stream

David Duchovny is best known as an award winning actor, director and novelist starring in the smash TV series The X-Files (winning a Golden Globe for the role.) His first novel Holy Cow was released by Farrar Straus and Giroux in February 2015 and hit the New York Times Best Sellers’ list.  This was followed up by his second novel, Bucky F*cking Dent, which also hit the New York Times Best Sellers’ list, and was released globally in 2016.

Check out David Duchovny live from Paste Studios:


Duchovny recently reprised his award winning role as Fox Mulder January 3rd on The X-Files. His third book, Miss Subways, will be released globally in May of 2018, and David is planning on Directing and Producing his novel, Bucky F*cking Dent into a film summer of 2018. He will be hitting the road in support of his new album, first in Australia and New Zealand in February with U.S. live dates to be announced soon.

Tour Dates:  

Feb 20 – Auckland, NZ
Feb 21 – Wellington, NZ
Feb 23 – Melbourne, AU
Feb 24 – Sydney, AU
Feb 25 – Wollongong, AU
Feb 28 – Newcastle, AU
March 1 – Brisbane, AU

David Duchovny’s Second Album Every Third Thought Out Today https://t.co/aPtCvKER2k pic.twitter.com/g970Rha6tx

— The Photo Pit (@ThePhotoPit) 9 de fevereiro de 2018

David Duchovny – Every Third Thought

Arnim Whisler February 9th, 2018 - 12:00 PM



Legendary Actor Improves Second-Time Around

If one were to hear the name David Duchovny, what would immediately come to mind is the actor who starred in TV shows such as Californication and The X Files, earning Golden Globes in both. But in 2015, Duchovny decided to try his hand at music and released a rock-oriented record called Hell Or Highwater in which he sang and played guitar. The album was moderately well received by critics, who were pleasantly surprised by his decent vocals and strong songwriting chops. Three years later, the actor has returned with a follow-up, Every Third Thought.

One of the early criticisms of Duchovny’s first album was that it emulated his influences too openly, in that while critics enjoyed the songs, they didn’t quite sound original. On Every Third Thought, however, he’s found a little more of his own voice. Speaking of voice, Duchovny’s vocals are low and soft. Rather than singing earnestly, he chooses to take a more nuanced and narrative tone to fit the introspective lyrics. The music is a blend of alternative rock, folk rock and country, similar to his first work. He originally cited Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan, Wilco and R.E.M among others as his main influences, and the songs prove it.

There’s not a lot of attitude or aggression on Every Third Thought. The only two tracks that exhibit any sort of rawness are the title track and “When The Whistle Blows.” Most of the other ones are mellow, though some clearly stand out from the others. “Roman Coin” could fit into The Beatles’ later catalog, and the acoustic picking and piano on “Maybe I Can’t” combine into a peaceful little folk number.

While there’s certainly progress in Duchovny’s songwriting, the drawback is that he still isn’t quite there in terms of developing his own sound. He’s got all the right weapons in his arsenal to keep improving— a strong backing band, time, and money— but in the meantime, there’s still room for him to grow. There’s definitely no lack of effort, and Duchovny obviously loves what he’s doing, so it should be very interesting to see what his future releases sound like.

ALBUM REVIEW: David Duchovny (@davidduchovny) - Every Third Thoughthttps://t.co/5dIj4KYXvD pic.twitter.com/LyvaJlDEZz

— Raymond Flotat (@mxdwn) 9 de fevereiro de 2018