Shannon Stephens’ new album, Pull It Together, out now on Ashmatic Kitty Records is a folk-rooted, blues-leaning effort full of soulful melodies and sparse, aching guitar riffs. With her superb singing ability, Stephens may end up garnering comparisons to mainstream performers such as Norah Jones, and her voice is truly a weapon of this caliber. However, her voice also possesses a less polished, more genuine edge along the lines of Jenn Wasner from the band Wye Oak.
Stephens has collected a powerful sampling of songwriting—solid enough, in fact, to be able to enlist the help of folk hero and luminary Will Oldham of Bonnie “Prince” Billy fame, who covered one of Stephens’ songs on his album Lie Down in the Light. Further, Stephens began her career performing in an early nineties band called Marzuki, which was fronted by Sufjan Stephens. So, to call the caliber of folks surrounding Stephens high would be an understatement. Her own musical prowess is obvious in her careful attention to haunting piano on “Cold November,” rocking guitar hooks on “What Love Looks Like,” and heartfelt melodies on, well, every track.
It’s no surprise that Stephens can sing with such convincing emotion. She has said that the album was informed by the Great Recession, and Stephens was out of the music game for the early half of last decade, raising a family. Though she hasn’t spoken much about her specific experience, we might assume that Stephens experienced or at least witnessed some level of the plight of many working Americans. On “Out of Sight” she wryly intones, “I think God should write my checks; he’s got all the money, after all.”
The following track, “Faces Like Ours” features guest vocals by Will Oldham, who sings sarcastically, “We’re gonna be okay; at least we have white skin, and when you have white skin nobody can send you away.” Stephens follows by elaborating, “And people are inclined to help other people who look like ourselves.” Wrapped in that facetiousness rests accurate and honest social observation.
For the most part, Stephens keeps her songs to the point, creating tight indie-folk tracks. The primary exception is the six-and-a-half-minute, epic “Down the Drain and It’s Gone.” In its sprawling minutes Stephens wails and belts it out, adding a little more twang that on other tracks, sounding a bit like rocked-up Gillian Welch. The song’s gravelly distortion works well with Stephens’ voice.
One of the most exciting aspects of Stephens’ album is that it clearly strays from mainstream music values but also diverges from most of what’s happening on the indie-rock front as well. Simply, it emerges as a classic approach to writing genuine, straightforward folk songs. Pull It Together and her preceding work The Breadwinner stand out as important contributions to the state of indie-folk and blues as well as independent music at large.
You can hear one song from the album by visiting our track review for the song “Care of You” right here.
