BURBANK, CA. (By Luke Burland /
Nikki Herceg/ Warner Bros. Records Publicity) - "Stand Still, Look Pretty," the debut album from The Wreckers, a modern country duo formed by multi-platinum-selling, Grammy-winning artist
Michelle Branch and Nashville-based singer-songwriter
Jessica Harp, will be released by Maverick/Warner Bros. Nashville on May 23rd. The first single, "Leave the Pieces," hits country radio in late March. Fans can preview the single as an AOL
Music First Listen @ aolmusic.com on March 20.
The album -- a heartfelt mix of Branch's pop/roots-rock sensibility and the country leanings of her longtime friend and former back-up singer Harp - is not a side project for Branch, but the next step in the Arizona-born performer's evolving career. The two women have been writing songs and singing together since 2001 when they first met as struggling artists who admired each other's work. Branch invited Harp to keep her company on the road while the then-teenager toured in support of her first solo release "The Spirit Room," and eventually asked Harp to perform backing vocals.
Branch went on to win a Grammy with Carlos Santana for the 2002 smash hit "Game of Love" and to release her second album, 2003's "Hotel Paper," while Harp mulled over various recording deals. She was just about to sign one such contract with a label in Nashville when Branch called in June 2004 and asked her friend to put the solo album on ice so they could record together.
The result is the earthy "Stand Still, Look Pretty" -- 12 tracks of stellar pop-tinged country, with the duo's folksy harmonies floating atop acoustic and slide guitar and mandolin flourishes. Produced by Grammy award winners John Leventhal ("Hotel Paper"), John Shanks ("The Spirit Room"), and Nashville ace Paul Worley (known for his work with Big & Rich, Dixie Chicks and Martina McBride), the album features songs written by both women, several co-authored compositions, a cover of Patty Griffin's "One More Girl," and "The Good Kind," which first appeared on the soundtrack to the television show "One Tree Hill."
The full track listing for "Stand Still, Look Pretty" is as follows:
"Leave The Pieces"
"Way Back Home"
"The Good Kind"
"Tennessee"
"My, Oh My"
"Stand Still, Look Pretty"
"Cigarettes"
"Hard To Love You"
"Lay Me Down"
"One More Girl"
"Rain"
"Crazy People"
