{"product_id":"rae-erin-lighten-up-cd-79388843700","title":"Erin Rae - Lighten Up [CD]","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThree years after the release of her critically acclaimed debut, Putting On Airs, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eNashville-raised singer-songwriter Erin Rae shares an intimate, honest, and playful \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eversion of herself through her sophomore album Lighten Up. Produced by Jonathan \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWilson, and recorded in the musically hallowed grounds of California’s Topanga Canyon, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003ethe album represents a sonic and inner shift for Rae. In it, she embraces more of her \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003einfluences, like baroque-pop, cosmic country, and indie-folk songs while mirroring a \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003emore compassionate self-view she calls “accepting my humanness”.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAlthough she grew up in a musically oriented family, Rae’s pursuit of music happened \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eby accident. After being gifted a Martin acoustic guitar on her 18th birthday, Rae \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003edecided to drop out of college after just one semester. Her goal at the time had little to \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003edo with making music into a career, and everything to do with spending more time and \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eenergy with the community of musicians and writers she knew back home. Looking \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eback on those days, she recalls the initial high of playing live at an open mic during \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003ewinter break and realizing, “this is how I connect with people. I have to pursue this.” \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eRae has continued to connect with people through her music ever since, performing at \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003emainstays like Newport Folk Festival, Red Rocks Amphitheater, and sharing stages with \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eFather John Misty, Hiss Golden Messenger, Jenny Lewis, Jason Isbell, and Iron \u0026amp; Wine. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe success of Putting On Airs also earned her a nomination for Emerging Act of The \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eYear at the 2019 Americana Music Awards alongside other trailblazing artists like Yola, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eJade Bird, and J.S. Ondara. When the Covid-19 pandemic called a halt to touring, Rae \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003etook advantage of the opportunity to revel in a wide range of musical influences she \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003ehad absorbed since the making of Putting On Airs, sitting in an un-rushed space while \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003edeciding which direction she wanted to take her music next.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThough Rae says the core of her work will always stem from the songwriting she was \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eraised on, the making of Putting On Airs with collaborators Jerry Bernhardt, Dan \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eKnobler, and Dominic Billett inspired her to deepen her music exploration outside the \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003etraditional Americana box and listen to records in a broader way. “It opened up a sonic \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eworld to me that I had always enjoyed, but that felt mysterious. The process of making \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003emy last record allowed me to visualize how recorded sounds come to be, so returning to \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003erecordings of beloved artists like Feist, Judee Sill, Wilco, became exciting all over again. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eI could suddenly imagine what was happening in the room to create what I was hearing \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eon the recording.” This newfound excitement led Rae down many rabbit holes, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eparticularly a deep-dive into English psych-folk artists like Kevin Ayers and Pete Dello \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAnd Friends, as well as songwriters like Gene Clark, Scott Walker, and Jesse Winchester. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThat expansive discovery of musicality led her to connect with Wilson, known for his \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003ework with artists like Father John Misty, Jenny O., and Roger Waters. Their shared love \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003efor the cinematic pop of the Walker Brothers, Bobbie Gentry, and the folk stylings of \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eMargo Guryan created a solid foundation to create together, so Rae flew to Wilson's Five \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eStar Studios in February 2021. Wilson called on musicians Jake Blanton (Bedouine, The \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eKillers) and Drew Erickson (Weyesblood, Father John Misty) to contribute bass, keys, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eand string arrangements, and played drums and lead guitars himself. Erin invited friends \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eKevin Morby and Meg Duffy of Hand Habits to contribute, and Wilson's longtime friend \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eNy Oh to sing some of the background vocals. The result is a fresh, authentic, and \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003esingular collection of recordings that are clearly rooted in a classic \"canyon\" sound. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eLighten Up also showcases a new level of personal growth for Rae, and invites listeners \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eto share in the results of her work towards self-acceptance. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e“My last record was a lot of \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eself-assessment and criticism, and trying to kick old habits and ways of relating to \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003epeople,” Rae acknowledges. “This one is about blossoming, opening up, and living a \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003elittle more in the present moment. Accepting what it is to be human.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIn the lead single, “Modern Woman” Rae celebrates womanhood and femininity in all of \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eits forms, countering outdated beliefs over driving drums and rocking guitars and \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003einviting an inclusive perspective through her cheeky lyrics “come see a modern woman.” \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWith “Lighten Up and Try” a song that embodies the album’s title, as well as its ethos, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eRae dwells on the process of opening up to love and to life, and the vulnerability that \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003ecomes with that process. Expounding on the song’s meaning, Rae shares, “This song for \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eme just feels like celebrating the vulnerability of living. Saying yeah, ‘No one really \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eknows what they’re doing. You just have to try.’”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIn the measured track, “Mind - Heart” Rae outlines the dangers of codependency, and \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003ethrough the straightforward lyrics, “the mind is fucked but the heart is pure,” she \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003emeditates on the unreliability of thoughts. “Both of my parents have practiced \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003emeditation throughout my life following different traditions. This song for me is \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eessentially using mindfulness to detach from habitual patterns of thought and behavior, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eand reconnecting to the heart, the intuition.” In “True Love’s Face” she opens to the \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003epotential of love and the choice to not flee from it over retro melodies, affirming \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003ethrough her bell-like vocals, “I will know it when I see it \/ I will not turn it away.” And in \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003ethe psychedelic “Candy + Curry” Rae balances awakening and being centered in the \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003epresent moment, with a soundscape that invites the listener to relax and enjoy the ride. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWith Lighten Up, Rae hopes to give listeners the opportunity to borrow what she’s \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003elearned, that there can be a lightness when things feel heavy and that even our darkest \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003ecorners can allow us to shine. “I hope this record encourages people to be a little \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003esofter towards themselves.” Rae shares. “If [Lighten Up] gives people listening the \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003espace to feel more tender towards themselves and move in the world from that place, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003ethat would be the dream for me.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cdiv data-bt-autogen\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTracklist:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCandy + Curry\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCan’t See Stars\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eTrue Love’s Face\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eGonna Be Strange\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCalifornia Belongs To You\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCosmic Sigh\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eModern Woman\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDrift Away\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eEnemy\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMind - Heart\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLighten Up And Try\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eUndone\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ol\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"4","offers":[{"title":"New","offer_id":50567202963752,"sku":"79388843700","price":11.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0933\/3833\/7576\/files\/4043743-3167159.jpg?v=1763987204","url":"https:\/\/waterloorecords.com\/products\/rae-erin-lighten-up-cd-79388843700","provider":"Waterloo Records","version":"1.0","type":"link"}