ARTIST.....: Sara Rachele
TITLE......: Heartstrings
LABEL......: Ropeadope
GENRE......: Indie
RIP DATE...: 2022-02-13
RETAIL DATE: 2022-02-11
RUNTIME....: 29:54
SIZE.......: 69,54 MB
QUALITY....: 320Kbps 44.1kHz
ENCODER/CODEC: LAME - MP3 (MPEG-2 AUDIO LAYER 3)
WEBSITE......: http://sararachele.bandcamp.com/album/heartstrings
Track List:
01. Makin' Me Wait 3:14
02. T-T-Tonight 3:45
03. Hot Child in the City 3:02
04. Go South 3:49
05. I Do 2:45
06. Heartstrings 2:52
07. Stray 2:38
08. Hey Johnny 4:23
09. Wander 3:26
Release Notes:
https://deezer.com/album/252970272
Sara Racheleí»s latest LP, Heartstrings (out via
Ropeadope Records), was recorded both in London, England
with her UK bandmates, Brooklyn, NY, and in her hometown
Little 5 Points of Atlanta GA (USA.) Written and
produced by Rachele (with a track or two produced by
keyboardist Spencer Garn (Ruby Velle & the Soulphonics)
the title track is an americana-powerpop-KateBush combo
Rachele co-arranged with Skintights late bandmate,
Waylon Elsberry. A more upbeat affair, the album
features hard-hitting musicians and friends David
LaBruyere (John Mayer) Binky Griptite (Dap-Kings) local
atlanta favorite Kristofer Sampson, and each of the
songs represent a story of a female troubadour on her
quest for meaning.
Rachele grew up a studio rat and folk child. Working for
free, cleaning out the cupboards at famed Decatur, GA
acoustic hotspot Eddieí»s Attic, she met countless
musicians and writers, and fell into bands as a side
player before sheí»d even written a song of her own. She
released her debut LP, Diamond Street, in 2014, and
followed with a swoony 7-inch cover of Crackerí»s
í░Low.í▒ The latter was dubbed í«sublimeí» by SPIN
magazine, and began to chart on commercial radio.
Racheleí»s 2016 sophomore LP, Motel Fireí¬recorded with
her repurposed punk band The Skintightsí¬was imagined in
Joshua Tree, Calif., with help from pedal steel player
Chris Unck (Butch Walker, Lisa Loeb). Rachele then
released April Fool in 2017. Dedicated to her late
grandmother, the album is a collection of bluegrass and
folk songs Rachele cut in East Nashville with guitarist
Johnny Duke (Little Big Town, Mary Chapin Carpenter).
BUST magazine wrote, í░Racheleí»s angelic voice channels
Tammy Wynette and Dolly Parton, and she has a gift for
telling tales of hope and disappointment in classic
troubadour fashion.í▒
In her young career, Rachele has also been featured at
NPR, Billboard, The Village Voice, Paste, PopMatters, No
Depression, The Boot, Popdust & more. She splits time
between New York and her farm church in Tennessee, where
she writes in a 1979 Airstream Bus, and runs independent
label Angrygal Records, influenced by Liz Phairí»s
self-releases under the moniker, Girly-Sound and Janis
Ianí»s Rude Girl Records.
Heartstrings is Racheleí»s globe trotting reflection,
submerged in 60í»s pop, folk, Americana and jazz. Velvet
coos and wistful inflections hover above dreamy
cadences, pervading the record with intimate details,
while binding the troubadourí»s timeless tales of
impermanence and self-discovery. Racheleí»s song í░I
Doí▒ was written and recorded in her rural church in
Tennessee. It is a meditative moment she wrote after a
dream where musician Waylon Elsberry returned to life,
ití»s part love song, part dirge. í░I just feel like
sheí»s with me all day everyday, but ití»s still not
enough.í▒ Rachele says. í░Thereí»s a lot of country and
bluegrass history in this town,í▒ í░Ití»s hard not to
feel her here.í▒ (The photograph for Randy Travisí»
Storms of Life album cover was taken in her churchí»s
front yard in the now fallen-in Flynní»s Lick General
Store.)
In a funky tribute Rachele does Nick Gilderí»s í░Hot
Child in the Cityí▒ (cut live in London) summoning a
time where hits were king. í░Makiní» Me Wait,í▒
showcases her songwriting skills and of course Binky
Griptiteí»s guitar virtuosity, and T-T-Tonight is
something a little more fun for Rachele. She says,
í░Sometimes, I work on not being so serious all the
time.í▒
Does anything sound familiar? Hershel Yatovitz, Chris
Isaakí»s signature guitarist, plays lead oní░Go Southí▒
which is the first song written for the record.
Engineered by drummer and dear friend Sigurdur Birkis
(Will Hoge/Butch Walker) the song is the truest
representation of her Americana roots. With an oddly
oracular tone the song was written after she moved to
Boston and was afraid she couldní»t hack it. She reminds
herself í░Get wise, or go south.í▒ It becomes a mantra
throughout the song and a backdrop to the album as a
whole.
Heartstrings closes with í░Wanderí▒ a poetic live studio
recording with Rachele on vocals and her 1965 Silvertone
single-pickup electric guitar. She muses and wonders
í░Do you ever wander too?í▒ She questions an imagined
lover, with no reply. This is where you can hear her
Tennessee country shine through. A dreamy fantasy in a
sleepy setting this song represents some of what Rachele
does best, Americana crooning over a bed of gentle
simple guitar chords.
í░Ií»d started working on this album, and with Waylon
dying I felt more than ever that the music is what is
supposed to press on,í▒ Rachele says. í░Ití»s just me
and Dolly Vicious at the moment,í▒ Rachele says
referencing her Belgian Malinois named after influences
Sid Vicious and Dolly Parton. í░Heartstrings begins with
what I love the most: being in a room full of great
musicians recording to an old machine í¬ and it ends
with something a little less tidy.í▒ Heartstrings hardly
ties up the bow.
Loss is only a part of the story. Heartstrings is about
traveling to transform, accepting the road rocks and
all. Racheleí»s teacher Livingston Taylor says the best
performers leave the songs there on the stage for the
audience to pick up. This album collects those moments
of emotion and forms of escape for us to review. í░Ií»m
constantly searching,í▒ says Rachele, laughing. í░Ií»m
hoping for change, that thereí»s something down this
windy pathí¡ Something that saves us all.í▒