Self-titled project also includes appearances by Derek Trucks and Lucius
Brandy Clark and Brandi Carlile make a dream pairing as collaborators on Clark’s latest album. The self-titled release, which was produced by Carlile, will be released May 19 and includes the new track “Buried.”
Clark’s fingerstyle guitar playing is the foundation on which “Buried” is built, and it’s from there that other layers are added in slow succession. It’s a subtle, unfussy recording, framing Clark’s melancholy delivery perfectly, and as a song, it’s full of characteristically great Clark lines. In the opening verse, Clark ponders getting out of town, where she can get “Get drunk on wine and dance with someone who ain’t embarrassed/To kiss me on the dancefloor/that’s what I’ll be there for.” The ending — no spoilers here — is a quietly devastating moment.
Clark and Carlile previously collaborated on “Same Devil,” a track that wound up on the deluxe edition of Clark’s 2020 album Your Life Is a Record. The process of making Brandy Clark found them connecting over their shared roots in Washington state.
“This album is a return home to me in many ways,” Clark said in a release. “Musically it’s the rawest I’ve been since 12 Stories and maybe even rawer. When Brandi and I sat down and talked about working together, one thing that really intrigued me was her saying ‘I see it as your return to the Northwest.’”
Carlile contributes vocals to a track called “Dear Insecurity,” while Derek Trucks appears on “Ain’t Enough Rocks” and Lucius contribute to “Tell Her You Don’t Love Her.” The album was recorded at Shangri-La studio in Malibu, California, with musicians including Matt Chamberlain, Dave Palmer, and Jedd Hughes.
Though she hasn’t released a solo recording since just before the Covid pandemic, Clark has remained steadily busy as a creator. She co-wrote and performed a handful of songs on Ashley McBryde’s recent Lindeville album, including “If These Dogs Could Talk.” She also recently celebrated the opening of Shucked, her Broadway musical penned with frequent collaborator Shane McAnally, at New York’s Nederlander.
Brandy Clark Track List
- “Ain’t Enough Rocks” (feat. Derek Trucks)
- “Buried”
- “Tell Her You Don’t Love Her” (feat. Lucius)
- “Dear Insecurity” (feat. Brandi Carlile)
- “Come Back to Me”
- “Northwest”
- “She Smoked in the House”
- “Up Above the Clouds – Cecilia’s Song”
- “All Over Again”
- “Best Ones”
- “Take Mine”