Christopher Owens, formerly of Girls, is currently rolling out a new solo album called I Want To Run Barefoot Through Your Hair. The singles have been fantastic, and the backstory is harrowing. Press materials have alluded to a motorcycle accident, a broken engagement, a struggle with homelessness, and the death of former Girls bandmate Chet “JR” White. Owens elaborates on all of that in a new feature at The Guardian.

In the story, Owens explains how he was planning to settle down, get married to his partner of seven years, and become “the best stay at home dad” when he was struck by an SUV making an illegal turn while riding his motorcycle. He refused an ambulance at the time but woke up the next day feeling physically devastated, with intense bruising and broken bones. “I should have gone to hospital but the truth is I was terrified of the money I might have to pay,” he says in the story. He was bedridden for months, during which time his fiancée ended their relationship and he lost his job at a coffee store. Unable to pay rent, he moved into his car with a camper attached — until someone stole his camper, which contained his cat and his favorite guitar.

The article also reveals that, as a way of getting back on his feet, Owens was starting work on a new Girls album with White a few months before he died. But White was in poor shape when they entered the studio — “It was the first time I’d seen him not be able to stay awake for a session” — and he ended up moving in with his parents to recuperate. When Owens learned of White’s death, “It was really, really hard… I honestly thought it was just a bad time and that, you know, maybe we’d try again in six months or something like that.” Some of the songs intended for that album now appear on I Want To Run Barefoot Through Your Hair.

One more surprising element of the story is that, after escaping the Children Of God cult as a teenager, Owens is getting back into Christianity on his own terms:

I’m still not a denominational believer. But during the pandemic I had a lot of time to review stuff that I’d read in the past. When you’re a kid and you’re raised in that environment [the Children of God], you think: “Do I believe this? Or is it a bunch of bullshit?” And then later you think maybe it’s not so black and white. Maybe there’s something that I do believe. Or maybe I believe that it’s not real per se, but it’s important for one’s life. And now that I’ve had a walloping left hook that I didn’t see coming, how do I feel about it all now? I do treasure my upbringing in the Bible. It’s maybe the most valuable thing I have.

The story is a fantastic read, and you should read it here.