New Music Friday again? Yes again, it is Friday. We are graced by Shannon Lay's "Rare to Wake", an ethereal folk experience that is just as interesting sonically, as it is lyrically. Who is Shannon Lay?
This is from her Spotify bio:
The name of Shannon Lay’s new album, August, refers to the month in 2017 when Lay quit her day job and fully gave herself over to music. This was her liberation as an artist, and the album is devoted to paying that forward to her listeners. Despite fronting her tranquil solo act and being a guitarist/singer in the indie-rock band Feels, she never pressures herself to overachieve.
August was mostly written in three months, during Lay’s first solo tour for Living Water. “For the most part, all of the songs were just guitar and voice,” she says. In keeping with the humbled, contemplative nature of August, most tracks clock-in at three minutes or less. She saved indulgence for the production. “Some songs as they were had this room to grow,” says Lay, who recorded the album with her longtime friend, musician Ty Segall at his home studio on the East Side. “I believe whoever you record with tends to affect the mood of music and Ty really brought this jovial sense that I hadn’t really explored yet,” she says.
“A lot of my friends who are really tough have admitted that they shed a tear when they hear my songs, and I think that really speaks to the visceral aspect of folk music,” Lay says. “It’s this ancient form of expressing yourself.” Think of August as a warm hug for your psyche. “I want to create as much music as I can,” she says, “and leave this spot by the river where people can go sit and enjoy.”
"Rare to Wake" is a collage of vocal harmony embedded in acoustic guitars and upright bass musings. Shannon shares her resistance to change in the form of something inside her denying the awakening she is desperately seeking. Various questions are asked that give the listener a peek into insecurities Shannon is feeling. The music is lush with acoustic instruments but is delighted by an electric piano and an abundance of complex vocal harmonies.
Listen/watch below to get the full story:
You can purchase Shannon Lay's music at her bandcamp
