Once an artist uses our platform to connect with an audience, we grandfather them into the NoiseTrade community for life and keep our antennae tuned to let you know about whatever future projects they’re working on. This week’s heads up: NT Alumni Shovels & Rope are releasing their fifth studio album By Blood which finds the married Americana duo breaking new sonic ground while continuing to keep it all in the family.
Throughout their career as Shovels & Rope, Cary Ann Hearst and Michael Trent have never been shy about continually pushing the musical envelope or challenging themselves to evolve with each new record. For their newest album, By Blood (out this Friday, 4/12, on Dualtone Records), the duo flipped their own script a bit, heading into the recording sessions with a batch of songs that had been worked out on the road a bit. In the past, most of their new songs made it onto an album before a stage. However, as this 10-track barnburner attests, By Blood is the perfect mix of road-tested sonic energy and recording studio nuance. That’s not to say that the album is polished to a sheen though, as the unpredictably rambunctious duo and their raw, unfiltered spirit is captured to tape in all of its excitingly unchained glory.
Continuing on in their corner-to-corner DIY ethos, Hearst and Trent recorded and produced By Blood themselves in their home studio in Charleston, SC. They also played every single instrument on the album, save a fiddle part on one track and some horns on another. Their new batch of songs also inspired some new musical experimentations, as the duo amped up the bass more than they usually do, added some new ornamental instrumental touches to their repertoire, and even dropped guitar amplifiers on the floor to get the exact percussive sound they were looking for.
By Blood kicks off with the live-wire crackle of “I’m Comin’ Out,” one of the duo’s most catchy sonic statements to date that finds them blending tastefully overdriven guitars and synth lines with a relaxed pop swagger. Following right behind is “Mississippi Nuthin’,” another welcomed addition to the duo’s explosive roots-punk side of their catalog that finds them furiously pounding their drums and strumming their guitars, while weaving their warm harmonies and unison vocals like only they can. As their calling card, the duo’s uniquely vibrant vocals shine on every track, with some of the more transformative moments coming on the singalong folk ballad “C’mon Utah!,” the emotively soaring “Carry Me Home,” deceptively bouncy murder ballad “Pretty Polly,” and dreamily resolute closer “By Blood.”
Along with the release of By Blood, Shovels & Rope have a few other new projects in the works as well. They premiered their new film Shovels & Rope: The Movie at the Charleston Film Festival back in March, they’ve got a children’s book based around their new song “C’mon Utah!” in the works, and the duo will host their third annual High Water Festival on April 13, kicking off a brand new run of shows that will take them through August (tour dates listed below).
Shovels & Rope Tour Dates:
April 13 – North Charleston, S.C. @ High Water Festival
April 14 – North Charleston, S.C. @ High Water Festival
May 24 – Axton, Va. @ Rooster Walk Festival
June 15 – Manchester, Tenn. @ Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival
June 28 – Jacksonville, Fla. @ Daily’s Place Amphitheater *
June 29 – Boca Raton, Fla. @ Mizner Park Amphitheater *
June 30 – St. Petersburg, Fla. @ Al Lang Stadium *
July 03 – Orange Beach, Ala. @ Wharf Amphitheater *
July 05 – Charleston, S.C. @ Volvo Car Stadium *
July 06 – Simpsonville, S.C. @ Heritage Park Amphitheatre *
July 07 – Charlotte, N.C. @ PNC Music Pavilion *
July 09 – Raleigh, N.C. @ Coastal Credit Union Music Park at Walnut Creek *
July 13 – Gilford, N.H. @ Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion *
July 14 – Saratoga Springs, N.Y. @ Saratoga Performing Arts Center *
July 16 – Canandaigua, N.Y. @ Constellation Brands – Marvin Sands PAC *
July 19 – Cincinnati, Ohio @ PNC Pavilion *
July 20 – Huber Heights, Ohio @ Rose Music Center at The Heights *
July 23 – Rochester Hills, Mich. @ Meadow Brook Amphitheatre *
July 24 – Indianapolis, Ind. @ Farm Bureau Insurance Lawn at White River State Park *
July 26 – Morrison, Colo. @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre *
July 27 – Morrison, Colo. @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre *
July 30 – St. Louis, Mo. @ The Fox Theatre *
July 31 – Brandon, Miss. @ Brandon Amphitheater *
August 02 – Atlanta, Ga. @ The Fox Theatre *
August 03 – Atlanta, Ga. @ The Fox Theatre *
*w/ Tedeschi Trucks Band
