Canadian folk-pop singer/songwriter, Andy Shauf, released his latest album on May 20th. This new record, titled The Party, is delicate, despite the wild connotations associated with most parties. Listeners waited just under a year and a half for an album, since the release of Shauf’s The Bearer of Bad News.
The Party is an important album to view in its entirety, mainly due to the storytelling of Shauf’s lyrics. The songs portrays a story through fragments of dialogue, observations of the crowd, and various interactions. Shauf begins the album with “The Magician” setting the stage with an alluring piano melody. The album proceeds from there to capture the audience lyrically. “Early to the Party” connects with society’s shared anxiety associated with arriving “overdressed and underprepared.” The album creates a sense of loneliness through a relaxed tempo and solitary lyrics.
His introduction of characters, Jeremy and Sherry, in “Quite Like You” take us on what could easily become a romantic comedy. The narrator is interested in Sherry, who happens to be with his friend, Jeremy. That being said, the plot is much deeper with the narrator taking risks with his own emotions. The album follows characters as they progress farther into a drunken stupor.
Shauf’s narrative style paired with the seamless musical transitions are essential for capturing his audience. As all must, the party wistfully comes to an end. The final track, “Martha Sways”, encompasses all that is unspoken in a goodbye through its nostalgic style.
While The Party is more reflective than The Bearer of Bad News, fans should still expect to hear their beloved Andy Shauf, in a more refined and pensive light in The Party.
Recommended If You Like: Adrianne Lenker, Mothers, Haley Heynderickx
Recommended Tracks: 1 (The Magician), 2 (Early To The Party), 10 (Martha Sways)
Do Not Play: None
Written by Miranda Roberts on 05/20/2017