Shannon Lay | |
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| Background information | |
| Born | 1991 (age 31–32) |
| Genres | Folk, punk |
| Years active | 2015–present |
Shannon Lay (born 1991) is an American folk and punk musician. [1] She has released four solo albums and was a member of the band Feels.
Shannon Lay | |
|---|---|
| | |
| Background information | |
| Born | 1991 (age 31–32) |
| Genres | Folk, punk |
| Years active | 2015–present |
Shannon Lay (born 1991) is an American folk and punk musician. [1] She has released four solo albums and was a member of the band Feels.
Lay grew up in Redondo Beach, California, a second-generation Irish-American, and started playing guitar at age 13. [2] [3] She left Redondo Beach for Los Angeles when she was 17 years old. [2] She was the lead guitarist in the band Facts on File, and later joined Raw Geronimo, who changed their name to Feels after several members left and others joined. [4] Feels released two albums with Lay as a member: Feels (2016) and Post Earth (2019). [5] [6] Lay left Feels in January 2020. [7] She is also a member of the Freedom Band, Ty Segall's backing band. [8]
She has cited The Damned, Stephen Malkmus, Nick Drake, Negative Approach, the Ramones, Slayer, The Velvet Underground and X as influences. [4] [2]
Lay's debut recording, Holy Heartache (2015), is a collection of 16 demos recorded at home. [4] In 2018 she described it as "just me putting songs on Bandcamp," and commented "It never felt like an official release." [4]
All This Life Going Down was released in 2016. Simon Weedn of the L.A. Record described the album as "one of the most beautifully delicate bedroom-pop albums one might hope to hear", praised its intimacy and observed that "There is never a moment that passes where it doesn’t feel like Lay is in the room, performing these songs by herself." [9]
Living Water was released in 2017 by Mare Records, an imprint of Woodsist founded by Kevin Morby specifically in order to release the album. [2]
Writing in The Straits Times , Yeow Kai Chai compared Living Water to Nick Drake's Pink Moon and Vashti Bunyan's Just Another Diamond Day and wrote: "With an observant eye for nature's ways and an ear for the rhythms of the heart, [Lay] intuits life's bountiful lessons." [10] Philip Sherburne of Pitchfork praised "Home" as "a good glimpse of what makes Lay’s music special" and argued that "Living Water is shot through with a kind of ragged hope—not optimism, exactly, but a determined belief in the power of that life force to pull us all toward something like transcendence." [11]
In 2018, Lay released a live session recorded for Audiotree featuring three songs from Living Water, two from All This Life Going Down and two previously unreleased songs. [12]
August, Lay's first album as a full-time musician after quitting her day job and her first album for Sub Pop, was released in 2019. [13] [8] It was co-produced by Lay and Ty Segall and features a wider array of instrumentation than her previous albums. [13]
Mark Deming of AllMusic noted that the more complex sound did not come at the expense of a sense of intimacy, and wrote that "she creates tunes with a simple grace that's a superb match for the lyrics which revel in the glorious mysteries of the world around us. And it's welcome to hear a contemporary artist who so comfortably embraces their folkie side without a sense of irony and with both feet planted firmly in reality". [13] Pitchfork 's Erin Osmon praised "Death Up Close" and "November" and argued that Lay's "vision is clear-eyed, poetic, and for all the ways she channels the greats ... she also chisels her own name in the canon". [8] Writing in Clash , Wilf Skinner commented that "August is best at its most meditative, even if its gravity belies a certain goofiness", and described the album as "more self-assured and hopeful" than Living Water; [14] while Hannah Siden of Exclaim! praised Lay's "unusual choices in some places – playing with tempo, dynamics and instrumentals" and assessed the album as "hypnotic, assured" and "at its best when it locks into moments of relaxed momentum, buoyed by gently driving, repetitive instrumentals". [15]
In December 2019, Lay released "Blue" and "We Mend" through the Sub Pop Singles Club. [16] In June 2020, Lay collaborated with Steve Gunn to cover Blaze Foley's "Clay Pigeons" as a fundraiser for the Black Visions Collective. [17]
Geist' was released on October 8, 2021. [18] The album features collaborations with Devin Hoff and Ty Segall, [19] and is produced by Lay and Jarvis Taveniere. [20] The album features a cover of Syd Barrett's "Late Night". [21] "Rare to Wake" is inspired by Frank Herbert's novel Dune . [22]
Reviewing Geist for Pitchfork, Emma Madden described the album as "the sound of an artist seeing themselves—their personality and temperament—reflected back to them for the first time" and likened Lay's role on the album to that of "a spiritual guide, kindly and patiently directing the listener towards their own sense of inner tranquility." [23] Pitchfork later listed "Rare to Wake" as one of the 100 best songs of 2021. [24] Ben Niesen of Atwood Magazine wrote that Geist "documents [Lay's] continued transformation into a bona fide singer/songwriter", noted the influence of Celtic music and the work of Anne Briggs, and likened tracks to songs by Brian Eno, Bert Jansch and Joni Mitchell. [3] Writing in The Guardian , Kitty Empire described Geist as "even more assured and contemplative" than August, noted the album's theme of the relationship between forward motion and personal growth, and praised the album's instrumentation. [25] Identifying the album as one of a number of "standout albums from the new singer-songwriter movement" released during the COVID-19 pandemic, Daniel de Visé of Spin described its songs as "some of the most starkly beautiful folk guitar figures put to vinyl since Nick Drake plucked his last." [26]
Lay released a covers album, entitled Covers Vol. 1 and featuring versions of songs by Vashti Bunyan, Arthur Russell, Ty Segall, The Velvet Underground and others, in April 2023. [27] Mark Moody of Under the Radar described Covers Vol. 1 as offering a valuable insight into Lay's influences, and described covers of Sibylle Baier's "I Lost Something in the Hills" and Osees's "I Am Slow" as "tracks that stand out the most for providing the listener the least to grab onto." [28] Stephen M. Deusner of Pitchfork argued that the album's covers "rely on subtle changes", not only cataloging Lay's influences but also demonstrating "how she continues to live with them", and praised Lay's versions of songs by peers such as Ty Segall's "The Keeper". [29]
Lay appears on Devin Hoff's album Voices from the Empty Moor (Songs of Anne Briggs) (2021), a tribute to the English folk singer Anne Briggs, [30] [31] and Ezra Furman's song "Point Me Toward the Real". [32]
Devin Hoff is an American bassist, composer and arranger. Hoff has collaborated with Julia Holter, Nels Cline, Sharon Van Etten, Shannon Lay, Cibo Matto, Kira Roessler, Good For Cows, Xiu Xiu, and others.
Ty Garrett Segall is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter and record producer. He is best known for his solo career, during which he has released fourteen studio albums alongside various EPs, singles, and collaborative albums. Segall is also a member of the bands Fuzz, Broken Bat, the CIA, GØGGS, and Wasted Shirt. He is a former member of the Traditional Fools, Epsilons, Party Fowl, Sic Alps, and the Perverts.
Michael "Mikal" Patrick Cronin is an American musician and songwriter. He has released four solo albums and several singles. Cronin was a member of the bands Okie Dokie, Epsilons, Party Fowl and Moonhearts, and is a regular and longtime member of Ty Segall's live band, contributing bass guitar, backing vocals and saxophone; he has also released an album and a single in collaboration with Segall. Cronin earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts in music from California Institute of the Arts.
Goodbye Bread is the fourth album by San Francisco garage rock singer-songwriter Ty Segall. Pitchfork placed the album at number 31 on its list of the "Top 50 albums of 2011". The album presented a much more melodic, sappy energy relative to Segall's previous rock-oriented releases. Distortion effects such as fuzz and overdrive, though, were still heavily broadcast in songs such as "My Head Explodes" and "Where Your Head Goes".
Always is the eighth studio album by Xiu Xiu, released on February 28, 2012.
DIIV is an American rock band from Brooklyn, New York City, formed in 2011. The band consists of Zachary Cole Smith, Andrew Bailey (guitar), Colin Caulfield and Ben Newman (drums).
Twins is the fifth studio album by San Francisco singer-songwriter Ty Segall. It marked his third and final release of the year, preceded by Slaughterhouse by the Ty Segall Band and Hair in collaboration with White Fence. Still in Rock described this LP as being "the darkest of all Ty Segall albums". "The Hill" was released as the lead single of the album along with an official music video. In January 2013, Segall issued the second single off the album, "Would You Be My Love", along with the video for "Thank God for the Sinners".
Lemons is the second album by American garage rock singer-songwriter Ty Segall. The album was released by Goner Records July 14, 2009 on CD/LP. Lemons was Segall's first album on Goner Records, and his first release to be issued on CD as well as other formats. The song "Cents" was Segall's first official music video. It is the only video released from the album.
Sleeper is the sixth studio album by American indie rock musician Ty Segall, released on August 20, 2013, on Drag City. Recorded between January and March 2013, the album features primarily acoustic psychedelic folk compositions, and is influenced by the death of Segall's father and his subsequent estrangement from his mother.
Kevin Robert Morby is an American musician, singer, and songwriter. A former member of Woods and The Babies, Morby has released seven solo studio albums: Harlem River (2013), Still Life (2014), Singing Saw (2016), City Music (2017), Oh My God (2019), Sundowner (2020), and This Is a Photograph (2022).
Fuzz is a rock band from San Francisco, California, United States, formed in 2011. The band consists of Charles Moothart, Ty Segall and Chad Ubovich.
Wand is an American psychedelic rock band from Los Angeles, California, United States, formed in 2013. The band consists of Cory Hanson, Sofia Arreguin, Robert Cody (guitar), Lee Landey (bass) and Evan Burrows (drums).
Emotional Mugger is the eighth studio album by American garage rock musician Ty Segall, released on January 22, 2016 on Drag City Records. The album was produced by both Segall and F. Bermudez.
Julien Rose Baker is an American indie rock singer and guitarist. Her music is noted for its moody quality and confessional lyrical style, as well as frank explorations of issues including Christianity, addiction, mental illness, and human nature.
Ty Segall is the ninth studio album by American garage rock musician Ty Segall, released on January 27, 2017, on Drag City Records. Recorded with engineer Steve Albini, it is Segall's second self-titled studio album, following the release of his debut in 2008.
Freedom's Goblin is the tenth studio album by the American garage rock musician Ty Segall, released on January 26, 2018, on Drag City. The album is Segall's second to be recorded with his backing band The Freedom Band, formed during the recording of his previous album, Ty Segall.
First Taste is the twelfth studio album by American musician Ty Segall. It was released on August 2, 2019 under Drag City.
Harmonizer is the thirteenth studio album by the American garage rock musician Ty Segall, released on August 3, 2021, on Drag City Records. Co-produced by Segall and Cooper Crain, the album's initial digital release was a surprise, with physical copies following in October 2021.
Blood is a 2021 studio album by American alternative rock musician Juliana Hatfield. The album was recorded by Hatfield in her home during the COVID-19 pandemic, with subsequent studio overdubs and mixing and focuses on themes of violence and retribution. The release was preceded by the single "Mouthful of Blood".
Squeeze is the second studio album by American musician Sasami, released on February 25, 2022, by Domino Recording Company. The album marks a transition from the singer-songwriter style of Sasami's debut album to a harder rock sound that incorporates heavy metal and industrial influences. Rolling Stone,Consequence of Sound, and The A.V. Club all named Squeeze as one of the best albums of 2022.
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