Tuesday, April 20: Brittany Shane / Sharp Things / Clare Burson
“She mixes the lilt of Stevie Nicks with the power of Sheryl Crow” — CHARLESTON DAILY MAIL
“There are perhaps four or five record albums in your life that you’ve listened to for the very first time and something happens. You are in love. With the singer. With the band. With the songs. And with the way it feels and sounds. Is it presumptuous to predict ‘Have Heart Live Young’, from Brittany Shane, will be added to that list?” — JAMBASE
“Have Heart Live Young” is a chiming, charming new hookfest” — SAN FRANCISCO EXAMINER
Bay Area-based songwriter Brittany Shane is hitting the road on a US tour this November 2009 -April 2010 to promote her new CD Have Heart Live Young (Painted Lady Records). The Wisconsin-born and raised songstress has been on a spell of writing and playing over the past decade or so, and the fruits of her labor are obviously starting to pay off. Brittany’s sonic offspring, having won the good graces of a laundry list of top notch music makers, including Grammy-nominated mix engineer, Joe Chiccarelli, producer Zack Smith (founding member of the ‘80s group Scandal), Shane, offers the sort of timeless songwriting on par with Brit cult group the Sundays, the Bangles, Beth Orton or Mazzy Star.
Perhaps it’s her down-to-earth Midwestern charm and the fine sense of humor conveyed in her songs that make you wish you could step through your speakers and into a bar, where she’ll be waiting with a beer. Sure, she makes pure pop for now people, but the tunes reach out in all different directions: “One Station” has a melody that doesn’t leave your head long after its 3 1/2 minutes are up; “Over Your Shoulder,” conjures a sensuous urgency we’ve heard more recently from bands like Metric; and the title track, “Have Heart Live Young,” is a foot-tapper on par with the Bangles, circa “Different Light,” shimmering backing vocals n’ all. But it’s Brittany’s every-girl that comes shining through in the end. We get the impression that punk rock kids, soccer moms and convicted felons can embrace the stuff with equal devotion, and we say that in a good way, of course.
That is why Shane has been able to share stages over the years with such a varied array of artists (The Breeders, Indigo Girls, Stevie Nicks, Aimee Mann, Heart, to name a few), without seeming like there’s been a mistake in the billing.
That is also why six of the songs on the Have Heart Live Young provide much of the score to the multi-award winning indie film, The Village Barbershop, starring John Ratzenberger, (Cliff Clavin from Cheers) and Shelly Cole. The film, called “warm, humorous and ingratiating” by Variety, was released nationally in cinemas in March 2009 by Monterey Media. The presence of Shane’s music, featured prominently throughout the film, bridges a metaphorical gap between the two lead characters, and in addition to being a fine score, is also an appropriate speaker for the struggles and triumphs of both main characters.
CLARE BURSON
http://www.myspace.com/clareburson
Of her musical objectives, indie songstress Clare Burson explains, “I’ve always leaned towards poetic simplicity and subtlety in my music—wanting to express as much as I can with the fewest possible words and musical flourishes.” This desire for melodic minimalism is evident in her critically acclaimed releases, THE IN-BETWEEN, IDAHO, and THIEVES, each of which is marked by evocative imagery, subtle metaphor, and effortless harmonies.
Burson builds upon this aesthetic with SILVER AND ASH, her most ambitious project yet. Set to be released by Rounder Records in July 2010, SILVER AND ASH imagines her grandmother’s life in Germany, through her immigration to the United States in 1938. The album was produced by Grammy nominated Tucker Martine (The Decemberists, Laura Veirs, R.E.M.), and recorded with Mark Spencer on guitar (Son Volt, Laura Cantrell, Aimee Mann), Tony Leone on drums (Ollabelle, Levon Helm), and Andy Cotton on bass. Currently, Clare lives in Brooklyn, NY.