Portland's Laura Veirs has a new album coming out My Echo, and has released the first song, Burn Too Bright. She says the song was inspired by the passing of the great Richard Swift.
"His death got me thinking," she said, "about people who seem to 'burn too bright' for this world."
She dedicates the song "to the many bright, artistic and heroic souls who have sadly left this plane too soon."
Honey and Smoke by case/lang/veirs from the forthcoming, self-titled album from Neko Case, k.d. lang, and Laura Veirs. This song should settle it once and for all that k.d. lang is and always was probably the greatest female singer in American music.
This album is the good news; the bad news is that the band will play in Atlanta at The Botanical Gardens, quite arguably the worst, most unhip, and least hassle-free venue in the city.
Another song from the forthcoming Neko Case - k.d. lang - Laura Veirs collaboration called Best Kept Secret, apparently about Veirs' friend Tim Young, who now is on longer the best-kept secret in Silver Lake. According to lang, the song "was done in one or two takes, and it went down super-fast. We were all dancing. It just had so much joy. Then Neko came up with that ba-da-da ba-da-da ba-da-da ba-da-da. It just kind of unfolded in this really joyful, celebratory way. I wasn't a huge fan of it in the demo stage. It was kind of straightforward. I was wrong. It tracked really well and it is super- joyful" (LennyLetter.com)
Neko Case, k.d. lang, and Laura Veirs have teamed up for a collaborative album, called, appropriately enough, case/lang/veirs. Apparently, the idea came together several years ago when lang sent Case and Veirs an email that simply read: "I think we should make a record together." In a press release, Case says she didn't hesitate: "Laura and I both responded immediately. There was no question."
The case/lang/veirs album was recorded in lang's and Veirs' Portland homes, with Vermont-based Case visiting as necessary for the record. Tucker Martine (husband to Veirs) produced the album.
Case and lang both performed on Veirs' 2013 LP, Warp and Weft. In 2013, Case released the album The Worse Things Get, the Harder I Fight, the Harder I Fight, the More I Love You, her sixth. lang hasn't released a new album since 2011's Sing It Loud; she moved to Portland in 2012, shortly after the album's release.
The case/lang/veirs album will be released June 17 and the first single is called Atomic Number. The track starts simply enough but builds as it goes along (I told you it's a Tucker Martine production) and features each singer both taking turns singing the lead and joining together for impressive harmonies.
The group will tour, including a foray into the American South, playing Atlanta on July 29th (that's the good news) at the Botanical Garden, one of the least rock 'n' roll venues in town (that's the bad news). Andy Shauf will be opening (good news).
So is this Colin Meloy backed by most of Black Prairie and featuring Laura Veirs, or is this Black Prairie with Meloy and Veirs, or is this The Decemberists with Veirs, or does this even matter?
