Desert Car

Last updated

Desert Car
Desert Car.jpg
Studio album by
AC Sapphire
ReleasedJuly 16, 2022 (2022-07-16)
Genre Indie folk, Americana
Length41:38
Label American Standard Time
Producer
  • Tim Sonnenfeld
  • AC Sapphire
AC Sapphire chronology
Omni Present
(2020)		Desert Car
(2022)		Dec. 32nd
(2024)
Singles from Desert Car
  1. "Cut the Line"
    Released: January 17, 2018
  2. "Bonsai"
    Released: November 9, 2018
  3. "Desert Car"
    Released: March 12, 2020
  4. "Bag of Bones"
    Released: April 17, 2020
  5. "Stick and Poke Tattoo"
    Released: April 19, 2020
  6. "Thrift Store Score"
    Released: December 17, 2020
  7. "Stick and Poke Tattoo (re-release)"
    Released: April 19, 2022
  8. "Bonsai (re-release)"
    Released: May 27, 2022
  9. "Jesus Are You There?"
    Released: July 8, 2022

Desert Car is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter AC Sapphire (and first under that name), released on July 16, 2022 through American Standard Time Records. Initially announced in early 2018, the album experienced several delays, in part due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It features contributions from Particle Kid and Victoria Williams.

Contents

Background

Born Annachristie Sadler and active in music from a young age, Sapphire recorded her first album, Elixir for the Human Heart (2005), under the name Anna Christie while still a teenager. [1] [2] She then recorded two albums with her sisters, Beatrice and Cassandra Sadler, as Sisters 3, who saw local success in Philadelphia before dissolving in 2013. After the breakup, Sadler relocated first to Joshua Tree, California, then to Portland, Oregon, gradually reestablishing her solo career under the name AC Sapphire. [3] Her 2020 EP, Omni Present , was her first release using that name.

Recording and composition

According to the album's liner notes, tracks were recorded with producers Tim Sonnenfeld, Johnny Hanson, Harlan Steinberger, Lynx DeMuth, Howard Billerman, and Sapphire herself at studios including The Nest Studios, Hen House Studios in Venice, California, and at Victoria Williams' studio. [4] Sapphire created the echoing sound of "Bonsai" on a vintage Sunn spring reverb mixer, intending the melody to evoke whale calls. [5] [6]

Desert Car exhibits a California-inflected blend of pop, folk, and Americana, among other genres and influences. [7] [8] "Cut The Line" pairs the melancholy 1990s sound of Jeff Buckley and Smashing Pumpkins with a brighter chorus derived from 1950s doo-wop, creating a nostalgic sound that evokes The Shangri-Las, Spanish music, and the films of David Lynch. [9] [10] [8] [11] "Bonsai" features near-operatic vocals, rhythmic picking, atmospheric drones, and growling electric guitars. [8] [12] Other album tracks draw from 1960s girl groups ("Stick & Poke Tattoo"), classical ("Can You Feel What I Feel"), country ("35mm Camera"), and '70s punk/new wave a la Television, Blondie, Patti Smith, and Joan Jett ("Bag of Bones", "Thrift Store Score"). [8]

Lyrically, the album and its title track were inspired by Sapphire's move to Joshua Tree, during which her car broke down in the desert and she purchased a 1992 Buick Roadmaster station wagon via Craigslist, which she saw as "marking a transformative time" in her life. [13] [14] "Stick & Poke Tattoo" is a love song based on Sapphire's brief affair with a blacksmith in Ireland who gave her the titular tattoo, [14] [15] while "Thrift Store Score" reflects her love of thrift shopping [16] [15] and "Bag of Bones" describes her life of travel. [17] "Bonsai", inspired by a dream Sapphire had about "meeting different muses in the desert that were helping me get married to myself", [18] [19] [14] uses this imagery to express a desire for real love in the face of a failed relationship. [18] [20] [21]

Release and promotion

The album saw a staggered and much-delayed release. Sapphire, then using the name Annachristie Sapphire, first teased the album in January 2018, with "Cut the Line" released as the intended lead single. [22] Another single, "Bonsai", was released the following November. [23] In early March 2020, following Omni Present, Sapphire announced that the album would be released on May 8, 2020, and concurrently issued the title track as a new single via American Songwriter. [3] However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the album was delayed, being tentatively rescheduled for a summer release, and the planned tour was cancelled along with an album release show. [24] [25] Over the next two months, Sapphire released the singles "Stick & Poke Tattoo" and "Bag of Bones", as well as a music video for the latter edited from homemade footage, [25] and streamed a virtual concert entitled "Quarantine Songs From My Bedroom" via Facebook. [26] In December, she premiered the single "Thrift Store Score", featuring Particle Kid, via Glide Magazine. [27]

In April and May 2022, "Stick & Poke Tattoo" and "Bonsai" were re-released as singles, with the latter receiving a music video, [28] [29] [30] and Desert Car was finally released on July 16, 2022, via American Standard Time Records. [31] In an interview the same month, Sapphire stated that she had no current touring plans but was looking for a booking agent to help schedule a sustainable tour. [29]

Reception

John Apice of Americana Highways called the album "genuinely long-awaited" and praised its "absorbing Americana sprinkled with doses of ethereally ambitious soundscapes". [31]

Track listing

All tracks are written by AC Sapphire except where noted.

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Stick and Poke Tattoo" 3:26
2."Jesus Are You There?" 3:11
3."Desert Car"AC Sapphire, Tim Sonnenfeld3:54
4."Bag of Bones" 3:16
5."Bonsai" 3:39
6."Mood Ring" 4:23
7."Thrift Store Score" (feat. Particle Kid) 4:35
8."Cut the Line"AC Sapphire, Tim Sonnenfeld, Victoria Williams 4:01
9."Thirty Five Millimeter Camera" 4:11
10."Can You Feel What I Feel" 3:09
11."Full Moon"AC Sapphire, Johnny Hanson3:48
Total length:41:38

Personnel

Adapted from Bandcamp: [4]

Musicians

Technical and others

References

  1. ↑ Stella, Nikki (January 25, 2006). "Anna Christie brings 'Elixir for the Human Heart' to Sellersville's 'Singer-Songwriter Conspiracy'". The Reporter . Archived from the original on January 2, 2023. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
  2. ↑ Fine, M.J. (September 10, 2008). "Twisted Sisters". Philadelphia City Paper . Archived from the original on September 11, 2008. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
  3. 1 2 Taylor, Katherine Yeske (March 12, 2020). "AC Sapphire Debuts "Desert Car," Title Track From Forthcoming Album". American Songwriter . Retrieved January 1, 2023.
  4. 1 2 "Desert Car Album, by Ac Sapphire". Bandcamp . Archived from the original on September 15, 2025. Retrieved September 18, 2025.
  5. ↑ Vettese, John (November 9, 2018). "Annachristie Sapphire returns with ethereal folk gem "Bonsai"". WXPN . Retrieved January 2, 2023.
  6. ↑ "Artist Interview: Annachristie Sapphire". ArtistPR. 2018. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
  7. ↑ Taylor, Katherine Yeske (March 12, 2020). "AC Sapphire Debuts "Desert Car," Title Track From Forthcoming Album". American Songwriter . Retrieved January 1, 2023.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Apice, John (July 14, 2022). "REVIEW: AC Sapphire "Desert Car"". Americana Highways. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
  9. ↑ Vo, Shannon (February 3, 2018). "Annachristie Sapphire's "Cut The Line" casts a nostalgic spell". WXPN. Retrieved January 2, 2023.
  10. ↑ Staff (May 9, 2018). "Video Premiere: AnnaChristie Sapphire – Cut The Line (+ Song of the Day)". Folk Radio. Retrieved January 2, 2023.
  11. ↑ Fenney, James (January 24, 2018). "Top Tracks: Annachristie Sapphire – Cut The Line". Belwood Music. Retrieved January 7, 2023.
  12. ↑ Staff (June 10, 2022). "LISTEN: A.C. Sapphire Offers Haunting Vocals & Surreal Soundscapes On "Bonsai"". Glide Magazine. Retrieved January 2, 2023.
  13. ↑ Taylor, Katherine Yeske (March 12, 2020). "AC Sapphire Debuts "Desert Car," Title Track From Forthcoming Album". American Songwriter . Retrieved January 1, 2023.
  14. 1 2 3 Haslam, Rebecca (July 18, 2022). "INTERVIEW: AC Sapphire Shares The Inspiration For New Album 'Desert Car' & Her Thoughts On Social Media". XS Noize. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
  15. 1 2 Milligan, Kaitlin (January 16, 2020). "AC Sapphire Announces New EP OMNI PRESENT". BroadwayWorld . Retrieved January 2, 2023.
  16. ↑ Staff (December 17, 2020). "SONG PREMIERE: AC Sapphire Spreads Majestic Ethereal Folk On 'Thrift Store Score". Glide Magazine. Retrieved January 2, 2023.
  17. ↑ AC Sapphire (April 17, 2020). "My new single Bag of Bones is now available to stream and download worldwide! Bag of bones is a song about traveling and feeling at home in your body where ever you are. I miss traveling so much! What do you miss? Please enjoy this semi-dark song in semi-dark times:) Love you ❤️". Facebook. Retrieved January 7, 2023.
  18. 1 2 Staff (January 25, 2019). "Video Premiere: "Bonsai" by Annachristie Sapphire". The All Scene Eye. Retrieved January 2, 2023.
  19. ↑ Staff (June 10, 2022). "LISTEN: A.C. Sapphire Offers Haunting Vocals & Surreal Soundscapes On "Bonsai"". Glide Magazine. Retrieved January 2, 2023.
  20. ↑ Vettese, John (November 9, 2018). "Annachristie Sapphire returns with ethereal folk gem "Bonsai"". WXPN . Retrieved January 2, 2023.
  21. ↑ "Artist Interview: Annachristie Sapphire". ArtistPR. 2018. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
  22. ↑ Taylor, Katherine Yeske (March 12, 2020). "AC Sapphire Debuts "Desert Car," Title Track From Forthcoming Album". American Songwriter . Retrieved January 1, 2023.
  23. ↑ Vettese, John (November 9, 2018). "Annachristie Sapphire returns with ethereal folk gem "Bonsai"". WXPN . Retrieved January 2, 2023.
  24. ↑ Staff (June 10, 2022). "LISTEN: A.C. Sapphire Offers Haunting Vocals & Surreal Soundscapes On "Bonsai"". Glide Magazine. Retrieved January 2, 2023.
  25. 1 2 AC Sapphire [@acsapphire]; (May 8, 2020). "I would have been releasing my LP Desert Car today into the world and would have had a CD release show at @laurelthurstpublichouse yesterday to celebrate with @kassiValazza and though it wasn't completely confirmed @kendalcore and @peternevins were probably gonna share the bill! Dang that would have been a good show:) I hope it happens down the road!!!! It's so crazy to think it has almost been two months of this quarantine..." Retrieved January 3, 2023– via Instagram.
  26. ↑ Kroll, Yoni (April 16, 2020). "The Skeleton Key: Beat back the quarantine blues with new music from Moor Jewelry, King Azaz, and a whole lot more". WXPN. Retrieved January 2, 2023.
  27. ↑ Staff (December 17, 2020). "SONG PREMIERE: AC Sapphire Spreads Majestic Ethereal Folk On 'Thrift Store Score". Glide Magazine. Retrieved January 2, 2023.
  28. ↑ Bennett, Lara (April 27, 2022). "AC Sapphire – "Stick And Poke Tattoo"". Petal Motel. Retrieved January 2, 2023.
  29. 1 2 Haslam, Rebecca (July 18, 2022). "INTERVIEW: AC Sapphire Shares The Inspiration For New Album 'Desert Car' & Her Thoughts On Social Media". XS Noize. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
  30. ↑ Staff (June 10, 2022). "LISTEN: A.C. Sapphire Offers Haunting Vocals & Surreal Soundscapes On "Bonsai"". Glide Magazine. Retrieved January 2, 2023.
  31. 1 2 Apice, John (July 14, 2022). "REVIEW: AC Sapphire "Desert Car"". Americana Highways. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
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