Loading Events

« All Events

  • This event has passed.

Margaret Glaspy w/ Liza Anne Live at SOhO!

August 16, 2017 @ 8:00 am PDT

“Emotions and Math” is not simply the name of Margaret Glaspy’s new debut album. That expression drills right to the heart of the New York singer-songwriter’s proper introduction, a mission statement both artistic and personal.

On its surface, the title track talks about being a touring musician and figuring out how to see your partner, looking at the calendar and calculating how you’re going to spend time together. But “Emotions and Math,” which ATO Records will release on June 17, also sums up an epiphany she had while making the record.

“In a lot of ways, it’s kind of how I operate,” says Glaspy. “I’ve always considered myself a free spirit, someone who goes with the flow, but actually I’m not exactly like that. This record really taught me that I’m super analytical and process-driven. I think they really do go together, emotions and math. Nobody is just one thing.”

As introductions go, these 12 songs waste no time in cutting close to the bone. This is a young artist with something to say, one who has found her voice, as both singer and songwriter, after years venturing down a crooked path.

After cutting her teeth in New York and Boston, where she was a touring musician and played in other people’s bands, “Emotions and Math” signals an assured new direction for Glaspy.

Glaspy, who’s 27 and grew up in Red Bluff, California, self-produced the album, which frames her revealing ruminations in shards of jagged guitar rock. Building on its early buzz – Rolling Stone hailed first single “You and I” for its “hot barbs of electric guitar,” and BrooklynVegan declared it a “stomping rocker with a DGAF attitude” – Glaspy prepares for a big year in 2016.

She’s a fierce believer in the power of specifics to tell universal truths, to capture emotions we’ve all felt but don’t necessarily hear reflected in pop music. Some truths are uglier than others, but Glaspy never backs down.

Take “You and I,” which opens with a sentiment so gripping that Glaspy initially worried it would send the wrong message. “Tonight I’m too turned on to talk about us/ And tomorrow I’ll be too turned off/ And won’t give a fuck/ About you and I,” she sings with a punk sneer that turns up often throughout her debut.

Glaspy would rather tell you the truth of the matter. On “Memory Street,” she envisions her past as a small town dotted with old relationships and memories both fond and painful: “Why remember all the times I took forever to forget?” She salutes her self-reliance on “Somebody to Anybody,” reminding both the listener and herself that, “I don’t want to be somebody to anybody// No, I’m good at no one.”

The album also showcases Glaspy’s finely tuned ear for production. Throughout “Emotions and Math,” she keeps the recordings clean and urgent, without an ounce of fat on them. She had plenty of practice; having recorded demos of the album twice at home before eventually ironing out the wrinkles at Sear Sound studios in New York. Glaspy auditioned her players and kept the sessions brisk and loose, running through songs a few times with musicians still reading the charts she had written out. “Everyone was on their toes, waiting for the right moment,” she says.

That freewheeling vibe ended up imbuing the songs with the same brittle energy and warm intimacy Glaspy brings to her live performances. In a bit of comic relief, “You Don’t Want Me” is a duet with herself, an imagined conversation between an insecure woman and a man who has to reassure her. “You don’t want me,” Glaspy sings dismissively, countered by her own voice, slightly distorted and pitched lower: “I do/ You are on my mind/ Every night of the week/ Stop being so nave,” Glaspy sings.

“It’s taken a minute,” she admits, “but I’m so glad that I waited to record my debut. I went through so many different phases before I got to where I am now. It feels like it took 26 years to make this album.”

Hailing from the quiet coast of Georgia, Liza Anne has recently found a home in Nashville as an indie artist exploring rock, folk, and experimental music.

While in college and only 19 years old, Liza independently released her first album “The Colder Months” with WXPN praising the title track as “a beautiful, melancholy song showcasing an exciting new singer-songwriter.” Liza’s 2015 follow-up album “TWO” brought the attention of KCRW, Paste Magazine, Nylon, a video premiere on NPR Music and had Diffuser.FM stating “In addition to the compelling journey it takes you on from start to finish, ‘TWO’ entices because it suggests infinite possibilities for where Liza Anne might go next.”

Fresh off the road from a break out performance at ACL and tours with Joseph and Bears Den, Liza Anne has been working on new material and spent time in Paris recording her new album which is slated for a 2017 release.

Details

Date:
August 16, 2017
Time:
8:00 am PDT

Other

Event Ticket Type
Free
Back to Top

Ad Blocker Detected!

Hello friend! We noticed you have adblocking software installed. We get it, ads can be annoying, but they do fund this website. Please disable your adblocking software or whitelist our website. And hey... thanks for supporting a local business!

How to disable? Refresh

Log In

Forgot password?

Don't have an account? Register

Forgot password?

Enter your account data and we will send you a link to reset your password.

Your password reset link appears to be invalid or expired.

Log in

Privacy Policy

To use social login you have to agree with the storage and handling of your data by this website. %privacy_policy%

Add to Collection

No Collections

Here you'll find all collections you've created before.

Close