Today, we were given an amazing opportunity to bring you the brand new album, Details, from San Francisco-based singer/songwriter Lauren O’Connell! The self-released 10-song folk-rock LP is something of a renaissance for the Rochester, NY native. It is a filled with heart-achingly beautiful acoustic-dominate tracks (“Shimmering Silver”) and tracks that are formed with genre-bending style, like on “In on the Joke” that mashes up rock, folk and bluegrass. And while Details is wonderfully varied there is a decisive and explicit theme throughout.
“Today I’m releasing a pretty sad album. I usually avoid saying too much about the content of my songs, for fear of ruining their mystique, spoiling what they mean to someone else, or compromising my own confusing commitment to personal privacy in spite of the fact that I overshare for a living,” Lauren O’Connell mused. “However with this album and this particular moment in my life, I feel compelled to step outside of that for a minute.”
And the multi-instrumentalist has done exactly that on this stunning LP. Her ability to stand up, even though she is hurting so deeply, is amazing. It makes for relatable music that is dark and brooding, but still hopeful and a promise that there are better days ahead.
“If you’ve ever listened closely to any of my albums, it probably won’t surprise you to hear that I’ve struggled with debilitating mental health issues for the past 15 years,” confirmed Lauren O’Connell. “It’s always been a part of my music, because it’s always been a part of my life, but this record feels like the first time I’ve written about it instead of writing through it. It’s not the subject of every song and I promise the album isn’t a total bummer all the way through (unless that’s what you want, in which case I invite you to hear a soft, comforting ooze of desperate irony in every affectionate or hopeful line), but it’s very much there.”
What is absolutely stunning about Details are the details. It sounds cliche, but it really is not. With every track, you can feel the pain, suffering and general malcontent in her wonderful, wispy vocals and into the production that has a clear purpose but is muted like your head is in a haze. It is perfectly summed up at the end of “Rest Easy” with a fuzzed out note held on the guitar that slowly fades away.
It is early in 2018, but the all-around quality of this record is nothing short of spectacular and puts it in the conversation for best album of the year.
And if you are in the San Francisco area, O’Connell will be doing a record release show at Cafe Du Nord with Mt. Joy on April 3, 2018! Get your tickets: HERE.
Do not forget to check out the brand new album, Details, by Lauren O’Connell on SoundCloud below and please pick up this album at Hello Merch!
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