New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Jenny Lewis has confirmed the release of her forthcoming album, Joy'All, arriving June 9th on Blue Note/ Capitol Records.
Joy'All, the fifth solo album from Jenny and followup to 2019's critically acclaimed On The Line (Warner Records), finds the singer-songwriter embarking on a new era, in a new town - and on a new label, as she joins the iconic roster of Blue Note/ Capitol Records.
"I started writing some of these songs on the road, pre-pandemic... and then put them aside as the world shut down, and then from my home in Nashville in early 2021, I joined a week-long virtual songwriting workshop with a handful of amazing artists, hosted by Beck. The challenge was to write one song every day for seven days, with guidelines from Beck. The guidelines would be prompts like 'write a song with 1-4-5 chord progression,' 'write a song with only cliches,' or 'write in free form style.' The first song I submitted to the group was 'Puppy and a Truck.'"
As the days progressed, the assignments kept coming in and Jenny ultimately wrote a good portion of Joy'All.
While Joy'All pulls from a bounty of sonic inspiration-from classic soul to '90s R&B, as well as country and classic singer-songwriter records-the album's rich and intimate, warm live sound is the hallmark of eight-time GRAMMY-winning producer Dave Cobb (John Prine, Brandi Carlile, Chris Stapleton, Jason Isbell), whom Jenny met by chance while visiting the band Lucius at RCA Studio A in Nashville. A natural kinship developed between the two, and having amassed an arsenal of demos on her iPhone, Jenny texted Dave and asked him to produce her new album.
"Dave works fast and we cut the bulk of the record with his incredible house band (Nate Smith, Brian Allen and Cobb on guitar, and myself on acoustic guitar & vocals) live on the floor in a couple of weeks. Jess Wolfe came back to the studio to provide background vocals on the record and then Greg Leisz and Jon Brion added pedal steel, B-Bender guitar and Chamberlin, respectively, back in L.A.."
Putting the pieces of Joy'All together seemed almost serendipitous for Jenny. Along with her fortuitous meeting with Dave Cobb, she was introduced to Greg Koller, who engineered and mixed the record and, coincidentally, works with Jon Brion-who graciously added to the album, much to Jenny's delight.
While shopping at
Black Shag Vintage in Nashville, Bobbi Rich (a frequent creative collaborator of Jenny's) made an auspicious discovery. She happened to find an outfit that once belonged to Nashville songwriter Skeeter Davis, whose influence pervades Joy'All. The ensemble became an essential centerpiece to the visual component of the record: "I wanted to riff on the classic Nashville album cover, with the song titles on the front. The cover photo is a reference to a Skeeter Davis record and I'm wearing her costume!"
Recorded at Nashville's historic RCA Studio A, Joy'All includes the previously released single "Puppy and a Truck" and is available for pre-order now.
Joy'All Tracklisting:
Psychos
Joy'All
Puppy and a Truck
Apples and Oranges
Essence of Life
Giddy Up
Cherry Baby
Love Feel
Balcony
Chain of Tears
Fans can catch Jenny as she hits the road for an epic tour itinerary that includes her headlining dates, stops on the upcoming 20th anniversary
Postal Service and Death Cab for Cutie co-headline tour and supporting dates for the Beck and
Phoenix co-headline Summer Odyssey Tour.
