New York, NY (Top40 Charts) On July 7, Nonesuch Records will release The
Queen of Hearts, the debut album from Offa Rex, an adventurous new project featuring English singer-songwriter/multi-instrumentalist
Olivia Chaney and The Decemberists. Produced and recorded by Tucker Martine (Modest Mouse, My Morning Jacket, Neko Case) and Colin Meloy at Martine's studio in Portland, OR, and mostly arranged by
Olivia Chaney, the thirteen tracks on The
Queen of Hearts draw largely on traditional English-Irish-Scottish repertoire to create a transatlantic musical conversation that flirts with psychedelia and folk rock while maintaining its own inimitable identity. Pre-orders are available now from iTunes and the Nonesuch Store, where the title track may be downloaded instantly; Nonesuch Store pre-orders also include an exclusive print, a limited number of which will be autographed by the musicians.
Listen to
Olivia Chaney and The Decemberists' Colin Meloy discuss the project with Bob Boilen for NPR's All Songs +1: https://n.pr/2q7adQQ
And watch a studio performance video for the title track "The
Queen of Hearts" at NPR Music: https://n.pr/2q7adQQ
The origins of Offa Rex can be traced to a tweet. Meloy, a fan of Chaney's 2015 Nonesuch debut, The Longest River, struck up a dialog with her over Twitter, which eventually led to her supporting The
Decemberists on a U.S. tour. Chaney says: "Every so often [on the tour] Colin and I would have these fleeting but quite intense conversations about songwriting and singing traditional songs. One night he asked me, grinning, 'Have you ever thought of having a backing group? We'll be your Albion Dance Band.'"
Meloy adds: "There's this weird relationship between British and American music, this interesting trade and theft that goes back and forth. My hope was that if we--the neophytes, the dilettantes, the pretenders--brought
Olivia to Portland to work with Tucker, perhaps these traditional British songs would be infused with something different."
From the heady harpsichord swirl that engulfs album opener "The
Queen of Hearts" to the warm, delicate drone of "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face," or the cold, grey riff that heralds "Sheepcrook and
Black Dog," it's evident that Offa Rex is different indeed, upending its folk roots and imbuing these songs with exploratory verve.
Offa Rex will tour this summer, including performances at the Newport Folk Festival, Town Hall in New York, and at The
Aladdin in Portland. They will also be performing at Travelers' Rest, The Decemberists' two-day curated festival in Missoula, MT on August 12 and 13. Additionally,
Olivia Chaney will support The
Decemberists during their August tour, during which she will join the band on stage to perform songs from The
Queen of Hearts. Chaney will also do a few solo shows around these dates. Complete list of shows are below.
TRACK LIST:
The
Queen of Hearts
Blackleg Miner
The Gardener
The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face
Flash Company
Old Churchyard
Constant Billy (Oddington) / I'll Go Enlist (Sherborne)
Willie o' Winsbury
Bonny May
Sheepcrook and
Black Dog
To Make You Stay
TOUR DATES:
7/23 -- Portland, OR @
Aladdin Theater
7/26 -- New York, NY @ The Town Hall
7/28 -- Philadelphia, PA @XPonential Festival
7/29 -- Newport, RI @ Newport Folk Festival
8/08 -- Vancouver, BC @ Orpheum Theater*
8/09 -- Calgary, AB @ MacEwan Hall*
8/12 -- Missoula, MT @ Travelers' Rest Festival
8/13 -- Missoula, MT @ Travelers' Rest Festival
8/15 -- Salt Lake City, UT @ Red Butte Garden*
8/17 -- Oakland, CA @ Fox Theater*
8/19 -- Jacksonville, OR @ Britt Festival*
*Olivia Chaney opening for The Decemberists' shows
