9/13/2023 0 Comments Andy shauf sf![]() This is especially so on the unmoored relationship autopsy "Thirteen Hours," which boasts an arrangement that's both jazzy and adventurous. While the arrangements on folksy "The Moon" are unfussy and song-centered like the best Gordon Lightfoot offerings, his drive to experiment is still obvious. He says, "I wanted to be able to sit down and play each song with just a guitar without having to rely on some sort of a clever arrangement to make it whole." The resulting album finds its immediacy in simplicity. , Shauf chose to start each composition on guitar instead of his usual piano. These songs are fictional but it's not too far off from where my life was," Shauf explains. "I kept coming back to the same situation of one guy going to a bar, which was basically exactly what I was doing at the time. Revealed itself midway through the writing process, he knew the story he wanted to tell onįrom the start. I wanted to have a more cohesive story," says Shauf. "That LP was a concept record and it really made me want to do a better album. In 2018, his band Foxwarren, formed over 10 years ago with childhood friends, released a self-titled album where Pitchfork recognized how "Shauf has diligently refined his storytelling during the last decade.”Įarned a spot on the Polaris Music Prize 2016 shortlist and launched Shauf to an appearance onĪnd more. His 2012 LPĭocumented his already-formed musical ambition and showcased Shauf's burgeoning voice as a narrative songwriter with songs like "Hometown Hero," "Wendell Walker," and "My Dear Helen" feeling like standalone, self-contained worlds. Raised in Bienfait, Saskatchewan, he cut his teeth in the nearby Regina music community. Though that album was his breakthrough, his undeniable songwriting talent has been long evident. Shauf's attention-to-detail in his writing evoked Randy Newman and his unorthodox, flowing lyrical phrasing recalled Joni Mitchell. Was an impressive collection of ornate and affecting songs that followed different attendees of a house party. While its overarching narrative is riveting, the real thrill of the album comes from how Shauf finds the humanity and humor in a typical night out and the ashes of a past relationship. (out January 24 via ANTI-), he sets a familiar scene of inviting a friend for beers on the opening title track: "I said, 'Come to the Skyline, I’ll be washing my sins away.' He just laughed, said 'I’ll be late, you know how I can be.'" The LP's 11 interconnected tracks follow a simple plot: the narrator goes to his neighborhood dive, finds out his ex is back in town, and she eventually shows up. The Toronto-based, Saskatchewan-raised musician's songs unfold like short fiction: they're densely layered with colorful characters and a rich emotional depth. ![]() May 3 – St.Few artists are storytellers as deft and disarmingly observational as Andy Shauf. 18 – Minneapolis, MN Cedar Cultural CenterĪpr. 17 – Winnipeg, MB Burton Cummings Theatre 15 – Calgary, AB Jack Singer Concert Hall 12 – Kelowna, BC Kelowna Community Theatre 3 – San Francisco, CA Great American Music Hall 26 – Oklahoma City, OK Beer City Music Hallįeb. 21 – Halifax, NS Light House Arts Centre (Solo)įeb. 20 – Fredericton, NB Shivering Songs (Solo) “But the closer you pay attention to the record, the more you’re going to realize that it’s sinister.” “The character of Norm is introduced in a really nice way,” Shauf says of the pleasant songs that precede the album’s centerpiece. He even rewrote all of the album’s original lyrics, recreating the story, and enlisting Nicholas Olson as a story editor – it was only after writing the title track that Shauf decided to build a narrative around the character Norm. Shauf recruited Neal Pogue ( Tyler, the Creator, Janelle Monae, Outkast), a prodigious shaper of genre-and-time-defying tracks, to mix the album, further building on the gently levitating, synth-laden atmospherics.ĭuring this period, he was captivated by David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive, which seemed to validate Shauf’s instinct to mix perspectives and tinker with shadowy narratives. Shauf’s goals were uncomplicated: create something melody-driven rather than chord-driven, and make it modern. The latter was essential to creating the more spacious and tactile sounds he sought. He sequestered himself in his garage studio, self-producing and playing every instrument on Norm, a collection of more conventional songs written predominantly on guitar, piano and synths. Shauf had planned to be touring around The Neon Skyline but, like many of us in the early days of the pandemic, he spent a lot of time alone instead. In other news, Shauf announces a 2023 Norm Tour including some of his biggest shows to-date. Andy Shauf announces his new album, Norm, will drop on Februvia Arts & Crafts, ahead of the release he has shared lead single/video, “Wasted On You”.
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