Acclaimed singer/songwriter Pieta Brown announced today via American Songwriter her new album Postcards which is set to release on March 10th via Lustre Records. The follow-up to 2014's Paradise Outlaw, Postcards explores the role of distance and isolation in collaboration with a featured guest performer on each track. For a brief preview, check out the album trailer HERE.
It was in hotel rooms across the country that Pieta wrote most of the songs on Postcards. Like any touring musician, Pieta was on the road to survive, balancing the rewards of performing music for a living with the challenges of trying to stay connected to loved ones and other artists while in motion. So, in order to keep in touch, she decided to send out "musical postcards." These were stripped-down, acoustic shells of the new songs she'd written while traveling. She sent them to folks like Mark Knopfler, Calexico, Mason Jennings, David Lindley, Mike Lewis (Bon Iver), and Carrie Rodriguez among others. Her instructions to each were simple: write back.
What Pieta created is a striking collection of portraits - sometimes sweet and tender, sometimes eerie and haunting - of characters facing loneliness, longing, and loss with a stoic sense of dignity. Her airy vocals, with just a hint of a drawl from a childhood split between Alabama and Iowa, float above rich, earthy texture, fluidly merging grit and grace in what is undoubtedly her finest work to date.
"Collaborating with other musicians and elevating a song beyond its outlines has become one of my favorite things about making music," says Pieta. "I'm interested in what other people can bring to a song, especially musicians I admire. Music is very magnetic. I have been so drawn to and inspired by all the collaborators inside these postcards."
Pieta Brown first came to international attention with her 2002 self-titled debut and has since been recognized by NPR for her "moody, ethereal" songwriting and applauded by The Boston Globe for her "mercurial voice," among other praises. Continually revealing new layers as both a songwriter and performer, Pieta is being recognized as one of modern Americana's true gems. In just the last six years, she has released three critically acclaimed albums and three EPs with much attention being paid not only to her distinct sound and style, but also the power of her singing and songwriting. Since releasing One and All (2010) and Mercury (2011) followed by Paradise Outlaw (which Bon Iver's Justin Vernon called his "favorite recording made at our studio"), Pieta has toured with Mark Knopfler, John Prine, Amos Lee, Brandi Carlisle, JJ Cale, Ani Difranco, Mavis Staples, and Calexico among others. She has also co-written songs with and made recent guest appearances on albums by Calexico, Amos Lee, and Iris Dement.
Track List:
01) In The Light (with Calexico)
02) Rosine (with Mike Lewis)
03) Once Again (with David Mansfield)
04) How Soon (with Mason Jennings)
05) Street Tracker (with Mark Knopfler)
06) Stopped My Horse (with Carrie Rodriguez)
07) Station Blues (with Chad Cromwell)
08) Take Me Home (with David Lindley)
09) On Your Way (with Eric Heywood & Caitlin Canty)
10) All The Roads (with The Pines)
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