New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Rockabilly goddess Kim Lenz has released the new single "Pine Me" from her new album Slowly Speeding. The track is currently streaming via The Bluegrass Situation. Combining atmospheric production with gothic americana themes, "Pine Me" is an entrancing distillation of Lenz' approach to songwriting on her upcoming record. Slowly Speeding will be released on February 22nd via Blue Star records. Listen: Kim Lenz - "Pine Me"
Lenz describes the concept behind "Pine Me": "This song is an answer song to a murder ballad. Murder ballads and answer songs have a long history in American music, both blues and country. I've wanted to write a murder ballad for a long time but the storyline is usually quite simple - the girl gets murdered down by the river. In this song, the girl has indeed been murdered down by the river, and now she is 'answering' him. She's haunting him to come find her, mind her, and do the right thing and take her body to her mother's house. And in the end, the act he committed will haunt him 'til he dies."
Lenz was recently featured as one of Rolling Stone Country's "10 New Country Artists You Need to Know". They also recently spotlighted "Slowly Speeding," calling the track "a smoldering torch song that's built as much for the lounge as the juke joint." The song was also a featured "Fresh Track" with No Depression. The video for "Slowly Speeding" first premiered with Taste of Country who writes, "The L.A.-based singer-songwriter practically invents a whole new genre with her new song..."
Lenz is a songwriter, performer, bandleader, engineer and producer who pores over every nuance of her music to ensure maximum potency. The ten songs on Slowly Speeding brim with growling vocals, clever turns of phrase and heightened musicianship that services both the songs and the emotional intent behind them.
Lenz released her debut album in 1998 as Kim Lenz & the Jaguars, via Hightone Records. Heralded as the "Flame-haired keeper of the rockabilly flame" by Allmusic, Lenz reached the highest heights of the 90's rockabilly revival. At the same time, she established her own distinctive voice as an artist who inhabited the musical and aesthetic traditions of a classic era, even as she subverted them. At the same time, she populated her band with top-notch players like bassist Jake Erwin (Hot Club of Cowtown) and the late guitarist Nick Curran (Ronnie Dawson, Fabulous Thunderbirds).
For Slowly Speeding, Lenz pulled the most essential elements of the past forward into the present and gave her own voice to it. Lenz's sonic vision for the project was to combine her favorite tones from her most-treasured records, regardless of genre or era, and co-producer DH Phillips was the perfect partner in crime. They looked to early blues, classic country, and old-time gospel harmonies. "The idea was to try to use all the ingredients that made up rock & roll, but shift around the time frames," she offers. "I started out in the '90s making traditional rockabilly music," she continues. "But in my journey to understand how rockabilly and rock & roll came into being, I found blues, rhythm & blues, gospel, Western swing, and country music."
Lenz will bring her trademark style on the road, with select dates across the U.S.
Full tour dates are at www.kimlenz.com.
