Out March, 29th on Don Giovanni Records, The Big Freeze is the long-awaited fifth album by New York-based songwriter Laura Stevenson.
If
gravity is strong enough, at the end of time our universe will
collapse, pulling all of existence back down to infinitesimal size, like
before the Big Bang. But if expansion outpaces gravity, eventually the
universe will be cold and empty--all light, heat, and connection will be
gone. That possibility is called The Big Freeze.
LISTEN TO "LIVING ROOM, NY"
PRE-ORDER THE BIG FREEZE
HEAR "LIVING ROOM, NY" ON NPR
Recorded in her childhood home during the dead of winter, The Big Freeze
represents a pivotal step for Stevenson. Despite her pedigree in the
punk and indie rock scenes, and the occasional inclusion of a backing
band (like the sprightly, C86-inspired pop track “Dermatillomania”), for
the first time on record Stevenson’s voice and guitar are in clear and
highlighted focus. It is a natural aesthetic choice for the musician,
who has often toured as a solo act and who pulls influence from the
great American songbook, and a choice that plays to the core strength
and organic beauty of her writing. And though it is easily the darkest
and most emotionally-devastating album of Stevenson’s career, it is also
without a doubt her most powerful.
Stevenson builds on her own
private worlds with choruses of multi-tracked voices, swarms of cellos,
French horns and violins; orchestration that blooms and swells
throughout each intimate performance. Exploring thematic ideas of
distance and misconnection; worlds pulling apart, aching loneliness, and
attempts to drive out hibernating dormant demons.
In the
opening track Stevenson’s voice insists the listener “lay back with arms
out, all-in, unfeeling,” to allow themselves to sink into a flood of
instrumental sound that thrums between dissonance and resolution. From
waves crashing in an abandoned waterpark on the haunting “Value Inn”, to
the last leaves trembling before winter sets in on “Rattle At Will”, a
creeping sense of isolation and anxious beauty surrounds every song. And
yet there is also warmth, and hope. The album’s third track “Living
Room, NY” tells of an intercontinental love and longing which seems to
have the strength to thrive despite even the most trying and impossible
of circumstances. Across ten tracks, the listener will travel through
the cold night, following after a small but powerful flame burning from
the other side.
Stevenson is a songwriter whose strengths have gone unsung for far too long, but The Big Freeze
is likely to change that. At times you will be reminded of
classic songwriters from both the mainstream and the fringe, whether
it’s Jason Molina, Judee Sill, Harry Nilsson or Dolly Parton. But always
you will be reminded of the power of the human voice (and a single
guitar) to invoke the universe. Or in this case, it’s end.
LAURA STEVENSON ON TOUR
2.7 – Gainesville, FL @ Changeville Festival
2.9 – New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom (sold out)
3.14 – Austin, TX @ SXSW
5.3 – Washington DC @ Black Cat
5.12 – Portland, OR @ Doug Fir Lounge
5.14 – Vancouver, BC @ Biltmore
5.15 – Seattle, WA @ Vera Project
5.17 – San Francisco, CA @ Bottom Of The Hill
5.18 – Los Angeles, CA @ Bootleg Theatre
5.22 – Boston, MA @ Sinclair
5.23 – Philadelphia, PA @ PhilaMOCA
5.24 – Brooklyn, NY @ Rough Trade
5.25 – Burlington, VT @ Arts Riot
5.29 – Chicago, IL @ Beat Kitchen
5.30 – Grand Rapids, MI @ Pyramid Scheme
6.3 – Minneapolis, MN @ 7th Street Entry
6.5– Denver, CO @ Marquis Theater
6.6 – Madison, WI @ Memorial Union Terrace / University of Wisconsin