CR 004: Jack Manley on Transforming Pain Into Music

An interview with the singer-songwriter about his new EP, "Unmeasurable Terms," and the process of turning difficult life experiences into art.

Jack Manley, photo by Chelsea Kyle

The French painter Georges Braque once said, “Art is a wound turned into light.” Nowhere is this more evident than in singer-songwriter Jack Manley’s new album, Unmeasurable Terms. Written over the course of a 30-day stint in rehab, the four-song EP is the culmination of Manley’s years-long struggle with drug addiction and depression. “I had sworn off music,” he says. “I had sold, given away, or pawned most of my equipment. I hadn’t released anything in years. I had given up. I felt like I failed in the music business. I felt like I failed in life. I just wanted it all to go away. I wanted my past to go away, and in retrospect, I wanted to go away, which is a difficult thing to admit, but it’s true.”

Each of the four tracks on the EP traces a stage in the addiction and rehabilitation process, touching upon codependency, relationships, and a longing for self-acceptance. Manley says the writing of the songs, as well as sharing them with his fellow patien…