Brigid Mae Power has announced the release of her third studio album Head Above The Water via Fire Records. Her last album The Two Worlds was selected as one of the Best Albums of 2018 on Folk Radio and in his review, David Kidman noted how it retained some of the dreamlike ambience of its predecessors. ‘On a City Night‘, the first single to be revealed from ‘Head Above The Water’ (listen below) you can hear a clear shift in that pattern with an opening that wouldn’t be far adrift from a Bob Dylan opening circa ’69. The label hints that this album is more “diverse, different, a bigger canvas, with broader brushstrokes…”, yes, we are genuinely excited about this one and can’t wait to hear more.
Fire Records reveal that on the surely autobiographical ‘Head Above The Water’, her heart is on her sleeve, her words bobbing about as the tide changes. Much-travelled, doting on her nine-year-old son, Power has come a long way.
The new album was recorded in analogue studio The Green Door in Glasgow with Alasdair Roberts co-producing alongside Brigid and Peter Broderick. It’s a continuing tale of everyday survival; more diverse, different, a bigger canvas, with broader brushstrokes…
Country and traditional folk rub shoulders, making for a juxtaposition of threads, with added instrumentation from five musicians (Alasdair Roberts, Peter Broderick, Brían Mac Gloinn, Stevie Jones, Hamilton Belk) lured into the studio to provide larger dynamics and a space for Brigid’s distinctive vocal style to spread itself across.
This is a singer that has found her voice and been able to embroider that beautiful thing into a musical tapestry that’s melancholy and wonderfully consuming.
“It doesn’t sound different to me, it’s just the way things have progressed, but I suppose you could say that songs like the opening track, ‘On A City Night’ are, well, catchy? This album shows a few different sides to me.”
After two lauded albums for Tompkins Square, Brigid Mae Power releases her new album on 5th June via Fire Records.
‘Head Above The Water’ is released on Rough Trade exclusive ‘blue drop clear’ vinyl / indie-store exclusive white LP / black LP / CD
Pre-order: https://fire-records.lnk.to/
Live Dates
29 Feb: House Concert, St Vith, Belgium
17 Mar: Seen & Heard, Dublin, UK
10 Jun: The Lexington, London, UK
11 Jun: Glad Cafe, Glasgow, UK
12 Jun: St. Michael’s, Manchester, UK
18 Jun: The Rose Hill, Brighton, UK
26 Jul: Deer Shed Festival, North Yorkshire, UK
04 Sep: Moseley Folk Festival, Birmingham, UK
Photo Credit: Steve Gullick