On ‘Bitter Better’, the forthcoming album from Laura Cortese & the Dance Cards (17 July, Compass Records) we find the band expanding their boundaries of what an indie-folk band can be as they take their extensive string music background, add their knowledge of folk and roots music, and incorporate an edgy pop sensibility. You can hear and see that in action for yourself on their latest track Dreaming below…that new-found sense of freedom and adventure is intensely palpable through both the music, the beautiful choreography and the shared vision of all those involved.
This is about following your creative vision and this is most definitely an exciting new chapter for Laura and her band.
Laura tells us the backstory to the track and video below:
“I sent a demo of Dreaming to the BITTER BETTER producer, Sam Kassirer, about a week before the band flew to Belgium in April 2019 to begin recording. Sam created a prepared-piano hook that involved several band members dampening the strings of the piano to get just the right sound. The lyrics are dreamlike, glimpses from my new home in Ghent, Belgium. I was struggling with the juxtaposition of feeling more grounded, creative, and content than I have in a long time, and all the while wishing the news from back home was just a bad dream. It’s impressionist or stream of consciousness feelings.
“I started imagining the video even before we finished recording the song. I wanted the band to have the fun of dancing in our own music video but without feeling the pressure of not being professional dancers. By May, the whole idea was brewing in the back of my head when I arrived at the wedding of some good friends to spend the day playing music and celebrating their big day. I met one of the best friends of the bride, Annie Kahane, who, with every step she took, was unmistakeably a dancer. It turned out Annie was also a choreographer and the artistic director of Alive and Well Productions (http://www.aliveandwellproductions.org/read-me). Sometime later in the evening over a bottle of proper champagne, I told her my idea. She was instantly encouraging and excited, onboard, and asking questions to help the vision come to life. She had studied in Chicago, lived for a while in NYC, and was now based in Berkeley, CA.
“As luck would have it, the Dance Cards and I had a gig in Chicago at the beginning of August and could arrive a few days early to make the video happen. Annie found dancers. She choreographed movements for us and put me in touch with a friend, dancer, and director Monica Thomas who then helped us find our DP Rudy Rubio. In no time at all, Annie flew into Chicago to begin working with the dancers, I spent the day shopping in Oak Park trying to find a monochromatic outfit for the shoot and the band flew into Chicago. We spent the next day in Thalia Hall being coached, moving, and watching in awe as Annie, Earlyn Whitehead, Berit Godo & Camryn Babcock moved across the floor.”
Pre-Order Bitter Better here: https://compassrecords.lnk.to/bitterbetter