NEW YORK (Top40 Charts/ Megaforce Records) - Patti Rothberg makes her highly anticipated return with
Double Standards, due in stores and online retailers on May 13th (distributed by MRI Associated Labels via RED/Sony BMG). The critically acclaimed singer/songwriter whose songs have the power to take over a stadium without losing their lyrical intimacy is releasing the album on her own
Double On Tundra Records.
On Double Standards, Rothberg's razor sharp wit and stark honesty trade barbs in the studio, and what a prizefight it is. Spin dared to say that "it's easy to hear echoes of Patti Smith…Rothberg sings as if the story was the most important part of her songs, and she's right," while Entertainment Weekly tread on hallowed ground by naming her a "distaff Dylan." And Rolling Stone picked up on her wry sense of humor, pointing out that "Rothberg lifts herself out of the morass by messing with the cliches she can't resist until they sound as though she made them up herself."
Double Standard's title track explores the good old concept of good vs. evil wherein "...the devil loves a double standard and heaven isn't selling cheap..." then takes a sharp turn with her anti-war anthem "Unconditional Love," while "Wavelength" strips away most of the instruments found on the rest of the tracks to expose her most emotional song on the disc. Patti also chose to record two songs that she didn't write, with the Rolling Stones' "Sway" fitting in seamlessly alongside her rock tracks, and Rothberg reveling in The Pixies' epic, "Gigantic."
An electric guitar-wielding rock chick with a novelist's introspection, Patti is the rare artist who can work both sides of the musical spectrum. As critically lauded as her debut was, Rothberg felt restricted by her record label to only reveal one of those sides. On Double Standards, she thrives in her creative freedom and at last releases an album that reflects her talent as a whole. While the album's lyrics delve into concepts that are more than meets the eye, musically it's split down the middle between hard rock that can hang out with the guys and heartfelt acoustic songs. Rothberg likes to think that had Double Standards been released in the age of vinyl, the rockin' songs might all go one side and the acoustic on the other.
Raised on a diet of AM rock and 80s new wave, legend has it that Patti was discovered while busking on a NYC subway platform and soon after released her critically acclaimed debut, Between the 1 and the 9. Tours opening for The Black Crowes, Chris Isaak, The Wallflowers, Midnight Oil and Paul Westerberg followed, with appearances on The Tonight Show and Letterman. She recorded her self-released follow up, Candelabra Cadabra, and continued to write and perform in New York, sharing the stage with the likes of Aimee Mann, Sasha Dobson, Mike Watt, shaping the sound that would fill Double Standards. Patti begins a world tour upon street date.
