Portland, Oregon-based artist Anna Tivel has shared a new single called “American Novella” from the same recording sessions as her widely acclaimed 2022 full-length, Outsiders (reviewed here).
Masterfully crafted and performed, it is Anna Tivel’s finest work yet.
Mike Davies, Folk Radio
Of the track, she offers, “‘American Novella’ is the story of a neighbor on one side of a fence just getting started, trying to figure it all out, grow a family, and make sense of the long/short/uncertain chaos of time. Just across the fence, another neighbor navigates the last days of that beautiful struggle, looks at the whole thing laid out behind them, the messy web they built of family, growth, pain, and love.”
The glitchy opening fizzles with a quirky dreamlike ambience before Tivel drifts in on a hint of clarinet which reappears in brief ambient interludes before entwining with the call of sea birds at the outro. Tivel’s expressive vocals are blissful as ever as she unravels her beautiful, almost prose-like verses, which once more highlight how bewitching and poetic a songwriter she truly is. There is so much detail within this song that you will instantly be drawn back to the start…a Novella indeed.
American Novella is a genuinely remarkable and enchanting single; also our Song of the Day.
The new song arrives following Tivel’s announcement that she will be supporting Fenne Lily and Christian Lee Hutson next month for an 8-show run that includes stops in San Francisco, Seattle, Portland, Vancouver, Salt Lake City, Denver, and more. See below for full tour details.
Anna Tivel On Tour
April 18 – 443 Social Club – Syracuse, NY^
April 19 – The Cock N Bull – Galway, NY^
April 20 – The Parlor Room – Northampton, MA^
April 21 – The Word Barn – Exeter, NH^
April 22 – Club Passim – Cambridge, MA^
April 26 – Whelan’s – Dublin, IE^
April 27 – De Barra’s – Clonakilty, IE^
April 30 – Roisin Dubh – Galway, IE^
May 5 – Club Cafe – Pittsburgh, PA*
May 6 – Beachland Ballroom – Cleveland, OH*
May 7 – Rumba Cafe – Columbus, OH*
May 11 – Constellation Room – Santa Ana, CA~
May 12 – Felton Music Hall – Felton, CA~
May 13 – Great American Music Hall – San Francisco, CA~
May 15 – Neumos – Seattle, WA~
May 16 – Aladdin Theatre – Portland, OR~
May 17 – Hollywood Theater – Vancouver, BC~
May 19 – Kilby Court – Salt Lake City, UT~
May 20 – Bluebird Theatre – Denver, CO~
*with Joe Pug
^with Jeffrey Martin
~with Fenne Lily & Christian Lee Hutson