New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Acclaimed singer/songwriter Pieta Brown will release her new album Postcards on March 10th via Lustre Records. True to its name, Postcards explores the role of distance and isolation through collaboration in which Brown enlisted a guest artist for each track via mail. Today, she released the first single "Street Tracker," premiered by Guitar World, which features guitar legend
Mark Knopfler who completed the song in London.
"The spark for 'Street Tracker' was a photograph I saw of a motorcycle, not long after getting home from being on the road touring. I saw a kind of openness, or freedom, and also a kind of power in the machine," Brown told Guitar World. "I hear and feel this same mix in Mark Knopfler's playing. My vision for the Postcards album was really about open collaborations. And I was lucky enough to send the track to Mark one day and receive his beautiful contribution back shortly after. Mark's songs, sound, and artistry continue to inspire me...to have him play on the track was a true gift!"
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. In addition to Knopfler, she sent them to folks like Calexico,
Mason Jennings,
David Lindley, Mike Lewis, and Carrie Rodriguez among others. Her instructions to each were simple: complete the song and 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.
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)
