9/24/2023 0 Comments Andy shauf new albumWe caught up with Andy Shauf to talk about the story behind every song on his new album. But follow along and you’ll be rewarded with a sincere and haunting collection where each storyline ultimately comes together while still leaving things eerily open, like a dream. I can’t tell you exactly what it’s all about, and neither will he. On the surface, the songs are pleasant and hazy, but there’s something much darker lurking underneath. Some things are immediately obvious, others take time to sink in. Partly because of how the songs were conceived, however, and partly due to the influences that he was exposed to, Shauf also explored new and interesting ideas, both musically and conceptually. Shauf’s latest album, out today via ANTI-, ended up having a lot more in common with his previous albums, sketching out scenes for his characters to figure out how their feelings relate to one another. As he was working on new ones, Shauf originally thought they might not even be connected this time it would be a more conventional collection – normal, even – thus, Norm. However you choose to invest in them, the Canadian singer-songwriter writes intimate, affecting songs that carefully strike a balance between wistful beauty and humour. But more than this, Norm begs the question of whether love is always a benevolent force.Īndy Shauf is playing at the l’Olympia on April 29th, 2023.In the self-contained world of Andy Shauf’s records, things are rarely what they seem. Albums like 2016’s The Party and 2020’s The Neon Skyline are filled with small moments staged between a specific cast of characters, but listen closely and you might catch a detail that will change your perspective on the entire story. In this sense, my first impression of Norm of being a collection of love songs is not far off – the romantic Belleville sunset complimenting the romanticism integral to the album. As usual, Shauf playfully offers the choice between background and foreground listening, never sacrificing one for the other. Whether you’re looking for an album to ease a Sunday morning hangover or inspiration for a twenty-page thesis on religiosity’s relationship to love and desire, Norm is where you should turn. Is Norm’s fixation on this figure malicious? Is he simply a man unlucky in love? Or is there something else at play? These are questions that only multiple listens and close readings can answer. He seems harmless enough, but as the album progresses these episodes get darker, the lyrics more ominous, and an almost ironic relationship is created between the story and its accompanying instrumentation, which remains consistently weightless and dreamy throughout. Though not officially introduced until halfway through the album, we are nonetheless witnessing episodes of Norm’s desperate attempts at meaningful connection. Shauf presents his listener with Norm, his Prufrockian protagonist who we follow through a series of episodes of unrequited love. The impression an initial, casual listen of Norm brings is that the album is a cozy, jazzy collection of love songs.īut Norm goes beyond this Chet Baker domesticity. Tranquil synths wind their way overtop of the soft piano and acoustic guitar, sometimes picking up tempo (“Halloween Store”) or slowing to an introspective pace (“Paradise Cinema”, “Sunset”), but always retaining warmth. Beyond this, the question is semantically flipped on the track listing, with “Wasted On You” opening the album and “All My Love” drawing it to a close. As the album comes to a close, it is Norm himself who reiterates the question, wondering about the futility of the unrequited pursuit of his lover. Norm ’s fundamental question “was all my love wasted on you” opens the album and is posed by God, an omnipresent character not only in this album but much of Shauf’s discography. This meticulous attention to detail is at its clearest when comparing the opening and closing tracks. The foundation of this concept album (beyond its narrative throughline) is the genius echo of lyrics throughout. Spanning around thirty-six minutes, Shauf’s characteristically mellow vocals blend seamlessly into the surrounding instrumentation. On its surface, Norm is a succinct short story anthology. My initial listen to this album brought one word to mind: love. With the passing of one lightly jazzy, overtly 70s-inspired song into the next, I overlayed this soundtrack onto visions of dinner parties with my closest friends and slow mornings with a loved one. The sun was setting over Belleville - the orange sky reflecting perfectly in Lake Ontario reminiscent of the dusky album art - and I found myself lost in thought. As I settled into my five-hour train journey last week, I decided to tuck into Andy Shauf’s eighth studio album Norm.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |