Songlights: More Adrianne Lenker; Sault; Rhiannon Giddens & Justin Robinson; Tomita; and a talk with newcomer Anna Byrde. Plus: Lucius! Suzanne Vega!

[Songlights are tracks I’m listening to this week that brighten the light of my days. Check back during the posted date range. I may add more songs as those days pass.]

It’s here!

The biggest, best surprise of the last couple of weeks has been the release of a singular album: Adrianne Lender’s Live at Revolution Hall. And what a feast it is: Two hours and six minutes of surprises!

There’s so much happening here: It’s

• a playlist of playful, improvisational, casual live performances of her solo work and Big Thief favorites;
• exchanges and collaborations with audiences (like an impromptu concert of whistling);
• highlights from sound checks;
• clips of conversational exchanges with fans;
• candid moments from the road;
• and more.

Sometimes, the recording will skip from a casual, offstage performance to a live-show performance mid-song, and there’s one late on the album where, after we hear the song performed live, we find ourselves at the back of the room the crowd listening to people around us with the song in the distance. It’s such a creative approach to a live album; I’m surprised I haven’t heard other artists try this before. (Maybe you have.)

This strikes me as the first live album I’ve ever heard that sounds like it was designed to delight the artist as much as the audience — not necessarily as a showcase of her best work, but as a scrapbook of unexpected moments that she wants to remember forever. It’s a sound collage more than a concert album.

And that has the effect of bringing fans closer to Lenker as a sometimes brilliant, sometimes transcendent, sometimes insecure, and sometimes self-effacingly funny human being.

It’s also a celebration of various recording techniques — especially cassette tapes. If you ever made bootleg recordings of shows like I once did, or recorded your friends joking around on a road trip, or recorded yourself talking to your dog, I suspect you’ll love the lo-fi, analog aesthetic of this.

Too early to say, but this may well be end up as my favorite record of the year. And that would be two years in a row for Lenker.

Here are several highlights:

Sault, “K.T.Y.W.S.” and “W.A.L.”

From Inflo’s shapeshifting UK collective comes a funky new album of prayers and pep talks: 10. Here are two highlights: the dreamy “K.T.Y.W.S.” (or, “Know That You Will Survive”) and the thrillingly percussive “W.A.L.” (“We Are Living”).

Rhiannon Giddens and Justin Robinson, “Hook and Line”

Anne and I are looking forward to seeing Rhiannon Giddens live for the first time here in Seattle in June. In the meantime, I’m loving the bluegrass bliss on this record which reunites her with brilliant Carolina Chocolate Drops bandmate Justin Robinson.

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Half-century flashback! Isao Tomita’s Snowflakes are Dancing

This week, I’ve been revisiting an old friend. When I was a child writing my first fantasy stories, I listened to a lot of classical music from my grandfather’s record collection, and that sparked my curiosity about film scores. Noticing this, one of my teachers introduced me to the innovative synthesizer arrangements and performances of Isao Tomita—specifically, his 1974 album of Debussy compositions: Snowflakes are Dancing. It became of the records I listened to most often.

It’s interesting to revisit his version of “Claire de Lune,” as that particular Debussy classic seems like a pop culture fixture. Most recently, it was re-imagined to become a prominent feature of the extravagant sonic landscape in the Oscar-winning Everything Everywhere All at Once. Somehow, Tomita’s take still sounds more sci-fi than that version did.

A conversation with Anna Byrde about Simple Saint and “Changes”

I thought that my 2024 was challenging. But when I felt overwhelmed, I took inspiration from one of my former students: Anna Byrde. Over the course of a year, Anna turned in remarkable creative writing in my class; she got married; she made quite a social-media mark when she stitched up a custom jumpsuit for Josh Kiszka, lead singer of Greta Van Fleet (he loved it and posed in it on Instagram).

And now she’s released the album she was working on through all of that. This doesn’t sound like the music of somebody who’s had such a busy year.

To mark the occasion and introduce her work to a wider audience, I asked Anna some questions.

Overstreet: How did you manage to accomplish Simple Saint during such a crazy, busy 2024?

Byrde: I extended the release date by almost a year, for starters. I wanted to release this album in July of 2024 and ended up releasing it this April. It was difficult to balance wedding planning, school, work, and the album. I am someone that gets overwhelmed easily, so it was stressful. I would try to set aside time each week to work on a song or two but I am not good at sticking to schedules, so it ended up looking like: taking a few weeks off and then hyperfocusing on music until I couldn't stand to hear my own voice. Then, rinse and repeat.

Overstreet: Tell me about two or three favorite moments from the process of making this album.

Byrde: There were a few times where a lyric or a guitar riff would just seem to appear out of the blue, which was always very exciting. For both “Changes” and “Lost to Wander” the guitar riffs showed up like magic. For “Lost to Wander” I had my coworker Jack play the guitar solo towards the end of the song. Recording that with him was another favorite moment. There is something so special about being able to come together with another creative and make art.

Overstreet: Even though we’ve talked a lot about your various creative endeavors, I found that the lyrics of this album raised all kinds of questions for me. Can you set these songs in some context that might help listeners find the paths that connect these songs?

Byrde: It's about my journey with my faith over the past few years: stepping away from the church for a while, finding my way back to it on my own, figuring out what it means to be queer and Christian. (There's a lot more to it as well, but that's the watered down version).

Also! The cover image is supposed to be an ode to the statue of the Virgin Mary (the one where she is crying) and the name as well Simple Saint.

Overstreet: Besides the obvious Beatles cover, what singers and songwriters inspire you the most?

Byrde: This list could go on for a long time, but I will list my top 5

• Hozier: I have been listening to his music and studying his lyricism for over the past five years. He is who originally inspired me to start creating music and I would not be where I am today without his art.
• Aurora: Her voice and musicality is so interesting to me. I tried to test out some fun drum beats in “Let It Be’ similar to something Aurora would have done.
• Greta Van Fleet: I just love them. Rock has been, and always will be my favorite genre to listen to. The crunchier the guitar, the better.
• Joni Mitchell: Everything about her *chef's kiss.*
• Queen: I grew up listening to them everyday in the car and their music has been imprinted on my heart.
• Honorable mentions: Johnny Cash, The Beatles, The Civil Wars, Hannah Wicklund, Johnny Flynn, David Bowie, Madison Cunningham.

Overstreet: Who do you dream of opening for? Who do you dream of having open for you?

Byrde: I would love to open for either Hozier or Greta Van Fleet. And honestly, if I am even playing a show that has an opener for me I’m happy. I haven’t thought that far ahead yet. It would be super cool to have one of my musician friends open for me, or vice versa.

Overstreet: The calendar hasn’t cooperated with me yet, but I’m looking forward to catching one of your performances soon. What’s the funniest, most unexpected thing that's happened during one of your gigs?

Byrde: There was one time, during the final song of a gig (“Hallelujah,” by Leonard Cohen), a large table group stood up and sang with me. They were all very drunk and raucous and it was wonderful. It always makes me so happy when the audience sings along with me, even if they sound crazy.

Overstreet: Did taking literature and writing courses influence your songwriting? (Is this a self-serving question for me to ask?)

Byrde: I would say that the classes opened my eyes to different styles of writing and how to use different voices in my lyricism. It’s hard because I have been writing my songs for so long that I think I am pretty stuck in my ways by now, so I am not sure how big of an impact they had upon my composition. Again, the lyrics and riffs sometimes seem to come from the ether, so I am unsure how much anything will affect that. But in my poetry writing, when it is not combined with music, the classes have affected me very much.

Overstreet: I hear rumors you're in a D&D group. Is this a good investment of time for a singer/songwriter?

Byrde: I would say it’s a wonderful investment for any writer or creative! You get to live out a million different stories and act out scenarios that you never would be able to in your real life. I acted out a scene with Dutch the other week where our characters were fighting and eventually my character broke down and cried because she missed her family so much. (There’s a lot of context here that I can tell you about another time if you want.) I have not personally experienced losing my home and entire family, but I had to put myself in the shoes of someone who did so that I could act as convincingly as possible. I would recommend any writer to join a group.

Overstreet: What would you tell aspiring recording artists was most challenging about this project? What encouraging words would you have for them?

Byrde: If you have limited resources, there are always ways to be creative to get the sound you desire. Just keep playing around and trying things out until something sticks. Don't force the creative process. If you force it, you won't be as happy with your results.

Overstreet: If readers want to follow your progress, what websites should they visit?

Byrde: I have not yet set up an official website but I would say to check out my Instagram and TikTok — insta: artby_anna22, and TikTok: anna_byrde.

Lucius plays an “Old Tape”

The new Lucius album is out, and it has my attention like nothing they’ve released before. I’ve been more curious about them as they’ve become inescapable, showing up in support of so many strong acts, and hand-picked by none other than T Bone Burnett to provide stellar harmonies on his recent masterpiece The Other Side.

I’ve already featured their song “Gold Rush” here, which is going to stand as one of my favorite songs of the year. But this one is right up with the year’s best too:

Suzanne Vega celebrates Lucinda Williams

A new album from Suzanne Vega has landed, and it features a track that’s a tribute to Lucinda Williams. I love it when my heroes show love to my heroes.

But my early favorite from the record, and one that reminds me of the haunting allure of her early records like Solitude Standing, is “Alley.”

Check back!

I’ll add more songs as the next two weeks unfold…