Latest single ‘Shadow of Lately’ is a good example, a track that ruminates on the sense of restlessness that creeps in with the repetitions of life and home. The song finds Valazza still in Portland during a period of self-imposed isolation. “Much of my last year living in Portland was spent walking through neighborhoods and keeping to myself,” she explains. “After going through a difficult breakup from a five year relationship, I found it hard to go out and be social. Keeping up with people became harder and I slowly found myself alone in my basement apartment, fearing the outside world, especially during the darker months of winter.”

If you are unfamiliar with the music of Kassi Valazza, we have previously described it as “bear[ing] all the hallmarks of the best retro tracks while refusing to fall for nostalgic imitation,” drawing on a rich lineage of folk and country songwriters while keeping things fresh. ‘Shadow of Lately’ is no exception, golden-hued and breezy despite the pangs of anxiety that lick at its edges. Opening with gentle acoustic guitar and Valazza’s distinctively timeless vocals, it soon blossoms into a mid-tempo country song complete with electric guitar and pedal steel.

The post Kassi Valazza – Shadow of Lately appeared first on Various Small Flames.

The resulting songs felt rhythmic and vital, with more melody and soaring chorus than I’ve explored in the past. There was no way and no means to gather a full band, and I brought the songs to Shane’s doorstep knowing and fully trusting the skill and exuberance of his creative imagination. Shane stripped everything down to the studs and we rebuilt it together, just the two of us for a month in his garage studio, Shane dreaming up each sonic layer while I chased the lyrics to one last double chorus.”

Recent single ‘Disposable Camera’ introduced what to expect from the record. It’s a song every bit as finely crafted as anything on Outsider, displaying Anna Tivel’s signature talent to ride the eddies and rapids of a sentence to charge her lines with tangible life. “Nobody tells it like it is / they say don’t rock the boat and shut up kid / but that big black train is rolling,” she sings, words gathering momentum like an engine of their own, “and that deep down scream is growing / a hurricane come howling / a shot heard from the mountain / a blessing and a burden / i swear this will be worth it.” The song is one “for the everything of it all,” as Tivel puts it. “For the wild science fiction of coming into the world. For the way it will break your heart. For the way it will make it race.” Watch the video filmed and produced by Kale Chesney below:

taking a picture to pass the time
a disposable camera and sore eyes
you’ll be leaning your head in the half light
what a feeling to be alive

Coming just before ‘Disposable Camera’ on the tracklisting, latest single ‘Desperation’ can be viewed as a kind of prequel to its tenacious energy. The despair at ground zero, where the only way to process the sense of injustice is a mental escape.  “Close your eyes and go somewhere, the windy coast, the forest floor / an airplane, another world, a dream.” But as the song progresses it lifts itself, the sound of a beaten body rising from the canvas again, as if the mere spark of imagination was enough to convince it to give life another shot. “Future vision is forever married to imagination,” as Tivel puts it. “This is a song about being born into a harsh reality, about struggling to imagine something better than you’ve seen. Poverty, inequality, disenfranchisement—all these dark systems that devalue human capacity, crush human spirit and soul. To be born in that darkness, to see it mirrored all around you in the lives of everyone you love, is to read an unjust story about yourself that takes herculean strength to change.”

Living Thing will be released on the 31st May via Fluff and Gravy Records and you can pre-order it now from the Anna Tivel Bandcamp page.

The post Anna Tivel – Desperation appeared first on Various Small Flames.