The new album from Shannon Lay, August, offers up folk-rock infused with the spirit of the DIY and punk scenes.. The tunes on this latest record, out on Friday via Sub Pop, are bracing, comforting, and soulful. Recorded with Ty Segall, August surprises consistently, and reveals yet another way to present music that's deceptively simple, and yet subtly complex.
"Death Up Close" is stark and chilling, even as "Nowhere" is more affecting, a rambling missive with echoes of Elliott Smith about it. "Past Time" and "Wild" are more elegiac, chiming ruminations that carry something ancient about them. Elsewhere, "Something on Your Mind" is even easier to love, a faint reflection of Simon and Garfunkel dancing here in these chords. Shannon Lay approaches this material with a lightness of touch that makes the material more accessible than it would be in other hands. August is unassuming yet serious, quietly catchy and still appropriately aloof.
August is out on Friday via Sub Pop.
More details on Shannon Lay via the official Facebook page.
[Photo: Denée Segall]