Click Here for Video Sample! Solo Release On Vinyl LP!
Vintage R&B + Soul With A Dash Of Country!
After nearly a decade spent with the Gramblers, recent high-profile collaborations (Phil Lesh, Infamous StringDusters, Ryan Adams), and a split from her husband and musical mentor, vocalist and songwriter Nicki Bluhm is stepping out on her own with her new album, To Rise You Gotta Fall. The songs were written over a two-year period in Bluhm's life and chronicle her fundamental life changes, which found the West Coast native living in Nashville, TN. "These songs are the conversations I never got to have, the words I never had the chance to say, and the catharsis I wouldn't have survived without," she says.
Recorded in Memphis, TN at legendary Sam Phillips Recording, Bluhm brought in producer Matt Ross-Spang (Margo Price, Jason Isbell), for these live band, analog sessions. The studio band includes Will Sexton (guitar), Ross-Spang (guitars), Ken Coomer (drums and percussion), Al Gamble (Hammond B3), Rick Steff (piano), Dave Smith (bass), with Sam Shoup (string arrangements) and various special guests. To Rise You Gotta Fall tells the story of a woman searching for light among darkness and reveals her emergence as a powerful songwriter and vocalist of great depth and immediacy.
"Musically, To Rise You Gotta Fall is steeped in vintage R&B and soul with a dash of country for seasoning, and the bluesy angles of the music are a perfect match for Bluhm's ruminations on a love that used to be. The album was cut in Memphis at the legendary Sam Phillips Recording Studio, and producer Matt Ross-Spang has put together a band that can evoke the sounds of R&B past without sounding dated or falsely nostalgic. And To Rise You Gotta Fall features some of Bluhm's finest vocal work, filled with passion and nuance at the same time, and for all the powerful emotions in play here, she doesn't overplay, and the focus and restraint only make this music more intense. Hopefully Nicki Bluhm won't have to get dumped again for her to make an album this good, but at least she found a way to put her broken heart to good use, and To Rise You Gotta Fall ranks with her best music to date." - AllMusic
Features:
• Vinyl LP
• Gatefold jacket
• Limited time digital download included
Selections:
Side A:
1. How Do I Love You
2. Battlechain Rose
3. To Rise You Gotta Fall
4. Staring At The Sun
5. Something Really Mean
6. I Hate You
Side B:
7. Can't Fool The Fool
8. Things I've Done
9. You Stopped Loving Me
10. It's Ok Not To Be Ok
11. Last To Know
