Andy Shauf and his band recorded live at The Mercury Room in Edmonton. The Regina singer-songwriter’s latest record ‘The Bearer of Bad News’ recently received its US debut on Tender Loving Empire/Party Damage Records. Andy’s songs prompt comparisons to records by influential greats like Elliott Smith and Nick Drake, yet they still manage to stand as something altogether unique.
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Staffordshire singer/songwriter Laura Welsh writes about each of the stunning tracks on her new EP See Red. “Red” is a song about taking responsibility for fucking up. To admitting you are holding back and playing it stubborn… for being human. The next track “Naïve” Succumbing to something familiar is easier than moving on. “Naïve” is about being on the verge of something breaking down but not being able to acknowledge it. The third song titled “Concrete” is saying everything and anything you could never say to somebody no matter what the consequences. Being honest with yourself beyond any consequences and finding out the best things can come from your biggest mistakes. The finally the last track called “Numb” is about sometimes I would rather feel nothing and escape. But a there’s a reality that always kicks in which allows you to gain perspective on certain things, helping you to move on.
“The Worst In You” by Andy Shauf from the album ‘The Party,’ available now on Anti (World Excl. Canada) and Arts & Crafts (Canada) Hope everyone is having a decent summer. I’m writing with a few updates and some tour date announcements. My new album The Party came out May 20th on ANTI- / Arts & Crafts, and I’ve been busy touring in Europe and North America with my band ever since. An understated concept album of sorts, it’s a portrait of a party narrated from several different perspectives. Sonically it’s delicious, with super dry muffled 70s drum sounds, syrupy and well-arranged clarinet & string accompaniments, and Andy’s addictingly strange vocal inflections. The lyrics and their interconnections are a world unto themselves too though, portraying humans quietly obsessed with seeking connection and self-destruction.
We also just announced a fall North American tour which will be our first proper headline tour for the record, and we’re happy to be joined by Scattered Clouds for our Western dates, and Chris Cohen in the East. We’ll also be returning to Europe this October;
Songs written, performed, arranged and produced by Andy Shauf
Strings performed by Colin Nealis
Recorded by Andy Shauf at Studio One in Regina, Saskatchewan
Mixed by Noah Georgeson at Banner Mountain Studios in
Los Angeles, California
Singer-songwriter Rhain is someone you need to have on your radar, her rise in the music industry set to make even bigger waves following the release of third single, “Pavlova.” .Released tomorrow (4th November), the stripped-back song is taken from the musician’s forthcoming EP and features her unmistakable vocals fit with haunting piano accompaniment.
Rhian who hails from the Isle of Wight via Iceland – has just come off a summer having supported singers Lucy Rose and Rufus Wainwright as well as playing at festivals including a superb performance at the End of the Road.
Rhain will be playing Off the Record, a brand new music festival in Manchester dedicated to showcasing emerging talent.
Rhain will be headlining her first show in London’s Waiting Room on 7th December. hopefully with more tour dates to come.
Every teenage balladeer hacking away at a guitar or piano imagines their songs unfolding into the kind of gorgeous sonic panoramas found on Billie Marten’s debut album, Writing Of Blues And Yellows. The difference in Marten’s case is that her songs really are that good, from their bare essentials all the way up to the outer reaches of their lush arrangements.
The album finds 17-year-old Billie Marten aka Isabella Sophie Tweddle in the cathedral city of Ripon in Yorkshire flexing a songwriting talent so powerful that “prodigious” feels like a major understatement. Perhaps reflecting her upbringing in the English countryside, her songs are rustic and dreamlike, refined in their construction and generous in their beauty. Fans of Laura Marling, the Staves, or Nick Drake will find a lot to love
Live is from the album ‘Writing of Blues and Yellows’
On the heals of a successful set of EPs, the debut full-length album “Midnight Waves” was released September. 9th of 2016, further defining an immersive sound of finger-style guitar, harmony & minimalism in the context of conversational storytelling. A contemporary return to pure songwriting. Launched in 2015 & paying homage to musical roots in folk along with modern indie influences, Canyon City is a decidedly independent entity dedicated to making honest music from the heart.
Bristol singer/songwriter Fenne Lily captures the fine lines of experience in a truly unique and enigmatic way. On ‘Bud’, the singer triggers vocal intensity and delicacy with aching ease.
Lily is certain to find universal appeal. In the meantime, before the majority wake up to the stirring intimacy of Lily’s folk-pop, we will savour every second of her ascent to wider familiarity. The new single proceeds a small tour circuit around the UK, commencing on 16th November in London.
Fenne Lily’s new single ‘Bud’ is out now.
It’s been a decade since Adam Torres released his debut album, Nostra Nova, which was reissued to great acclaim in 2015. Recently signed to Fat Possum Records, the Austin–Texas dwelling songwriter known for poetic lyrics and beautiful melodies just released a new album, Pearls to Swine. It’s very exciting to see a renewal of the traditional singer-songwriter movement. Adam Torres is just one of many Americana/roots solo musicians who have popped up over the past few years, having released his debut album in 2006 when he was just 20 years old. Pearls To Swine, is a sizzler of a record, one which I hope will likely catapult Adam Torres into a much greater spotlight. Torres’ Fat Possum debut is full of natural soundscapes and elaborate imagery that brilliantly twinkles throughout this piece of art.
From the upcoming album, Pearls To Swine, out September 9th via Fat Possum Records
An intuitively smart and fearlessly generous record – this is an artist in complete command of their craft at the top of their game and is already a contender for album of the year. After 2014’s stunning Burn Your Fire for No Witness which dramatically raised her profile, Angel Olsen perhaps felt pressure to make a big statement the next time out. My Woman finds her rising up to the challenge, maintaining a harrowing intensity in full-band rockers and solitary confessionals. Olsen is a brilliant songwriter and an even better vocalist, who can go from stern to tender to deranged, and back again, in a single verse. In the beginning of “My Woman”, Olsen mostly pursues love with wild-eyed fervor, whereas the closing songs disconsolately consider its ruins. Yet, the relentless heat of My Woman can be exhausting over the course of the 10 searing tracks—the addition of a throwaway would give a weary listener time to regroup. But Angel Olsen’s fearless and eloquent embrace of raw emotions in all their messy splendor ultimately feels oddly uplifting, the way it always does when you witness a gifted artist at her best.
Angel Olsen – “Sister” from the album ‘MY WOMAN’ released September 2nd, 2016 on Jagjaguwar Records
Lucy Dacus is a witty Singer Songwriter whose solo tunes have evolved into twangy indie rock slow-burners with help from the rest of her talented quintet. She began writing mostly for herself, but met up with like-minded players in her hometown of Richmond, Virginia who helped flesh out and grow her skeletal demos. Dacus is a soft-spoken, in-the-moment kind of player whose lyrics are open-ended but biographical. She possesses an acute observational focus, one that gifts her with the ability to tell stories that resonate with thoughtful universal truth.
Watch the full band performance of the session and fall into her poignant tales here on Audiotree Live.
Band Members
Lucy Dacus – Vocals and Guitar
Noma Illmensee – Bass and Backing Vocals
Jacob Blizzard – Guitar
Tristan Fisher – Guitar and Backing Vocal
Miles Huffman – Drums
Lucy Dacus performs on Audiotree Live, March 28, 2016.
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