New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Anna St. Louis, the Kansas City-bred, LA-based songwriter, released "The Bells," the second single from her forthcoming debut album today. "The Bells" features
Kevin Morby on percussion and Kyle
Thomas of King Tuff on bass and organ. Stereogum premiered the track today, saying, "St. Louis' voice is buffeted by prickling guitars and a dusty saunter that make the whole song sound like it came straight out of a spaghetti western."
If Only There Was a River, which was co-produced by
Kevin Morby and Kyle
Thomas and also features the previously released single "Understand," is out October 12 on Woodsist / Mare Records. It is available for pre-order on digital and physical format now.
Anna St. Louis' tour with
Waxahatchee and Night Shop kicks off tonight in Athens, Georgia. Today she also announced a hometown album release show at Permanent Records in
Highland Park, Los Angeles;
William Tyler will open and the show will be followed by an afterparty at Town
Pizza with a DJ set by
Kevin Morby and King Tuff.
9/05: Georgia Theater - Athens, GA *
9/08: Miracle Theater - Washington DC *
9/09: The Bell House - Brooklyn, NY *
9/10: Le Poisson
Rouge - New York City, NY *
9/12: The Warhol - Pittsburgh, PA *
9/13: Stuart's Opera House - Nelsonville, OH *
9/14: Survival Kit Gallery - Cleveland OH *
9/15: Bloor Street United Church - Toronto, ON *
9/16: Wealthy Theater - Grand Rapids, MI *
9/18: Mineral Points Opera House - Mineral Points, WI *
9/20: Lincoln
Calling - Lincoln, NE *
9/21: The While Schoolhouse - Lawrence, KS *
10/20: Permanent Records
Highland Park - Los Angeles, CA ^
* w/
Waxahatchee & Night Shop
^ w/
William Tyler, followed by
Kevin Morby + King Tuff DJ set at Town Pizza
EARLY PRAISE FOR IF ONLY THERE WAS A RIVER:
"Lopes along like
Loretta Lynn backed by sweeping strings and the loose vibe of Van Morrison's Moondance band... it even channels some of
Karen Dalton's oblong, hiccuping soul." - NPR
"Her songs are lyrical puzzles... It's a mystery worthy of investigation." - LA TIMES
"A wandering folk song that hits on a classic vein." - STEREOGUM
"Gentle, yet soulful longing." - CONSEQUENCE OF SOUND
If Only There Was A River is the first full-length studio album from Anna St. Louis. The songwriter, who originally hails from Kansas City, began writing songs after moving to Los Angeles five years ago and has previously released a cassette of recordings on Woodsist / Mare Records, appropriately titled First Songs. The tape received notice from NPR: All Songs Considered, Pitchfork, and Stereogum.
On her proper debut, St. Louis, spreads her wings and expands on the promise hinted at on First Songs. To achieve that end, St. Louis enlisted Kyle
Thomas (King Tuff) and
Kevin Morby to produce the album, which was engineered by
Thomas in his home in Mount Washington, LA. The collection of 11 songs also features Justin Sullivan (Night Shop) on drums and multi-instrumentalist
Oliver Hill (Pavo Pavo). While hints of influences like Loretta Lynn, John Fahey and Townes Van Zandt peek out of the corners of the songs, If Only There Was a River is not a nostalgic affair. Rather it marks the emergence of an artist fully coming into their own.
