"This is one of the lighter songs on the album, a little breath of fresh air,” stated Rae. “The image I get is putting on a partner’s t-shirt, taking in the distinctive aroma, and dancing around your apartment to a new song that you love, only because they showed it to you. It eases the discomfort of missing them. The song is simply about being turned on by the unique smell of your partner. Smell is a sense not often written about, but it resonates deeply, especially for people in long-distance relationships or those who spend a lot of time away from home."
“Cologne” follows the release of the heavy-hitting alt-tinged juggernaut “Maybe I’m The Villain,” a self-reflective track that strives to view things through the opposite lens. Holler featured the track and raved, "With its lush, sweeping harmonies, sugary '90s pop gloss and crunching backbeat, the swampy country funk of 'Maybe I'm the Villain' is a bold statement of intent that sounds like All Saints recording with The Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section."
Hailed by No Depression as "a singer fully in command of her vocal gifts and a songwriter who enfolds her lyric sensibility in haunting musical sketches," Rae has spent years touring behind her career-launching debut, driving herself from show to show, watching America unfold outside the car windshield. While crisscrossing the country and playing over 200 gigs a year, including supporting artists such as Sierra Hull, Pokey LaFarge, The Head and the Heart, John Craigie, Band of Heathens, and The Brothers Comatose, she watched Mad Twenties become a national hit. The record wound up spending more than 30 weeks on the Americana Radio charts. No other independently-released album enjoyed a longer stay on the Americana charts.
Now with her sophomore release, Rae takes her eyes off the road and turns her attention inward. Filled with the most personal songs of her career, The Void is a sharply-written record that celebrates the contradictory and complementary parts of the human experience, exploring life's dark corners — from breakups to intergenerational trauma — with a colorful mix of roadhouse roots-rock, modern-day folk, alternative music, blues, and analog Americana. Anchored by a songwriting style that explores the uncharted spaces between genres, she took inspiration from the roots of American music while also maintaining a modern edge.
Produced by Grammy-winner Eric Krasno (Soulive, Lettuce, Tedeschi Trucks Band) and recorded out of his studio in Pasadena, The Void is an immersive and wildly eclectic album that both confirms Rae's status as an Americana A-lister as well as reaches far beyond the genre's borders. It features songs that are vulnerable, self-examinations rooted in loss and heartbreak, while others are celebrations of new love. Together, they explore the contrasts that have filled Rae’s life of late: darkness and light, chaos and balance, closed doors and new beginnings. Some songs were built around live-in-the-studio performances that showcased her strength as a stage performer. Others were recorded layer by layer. The result is a stunning blend of cinematic slow-burners, self-empowerment anthems, raw stripped-down field recordings, bluegrass-inspired barn-burners, and even the occasional reggae rhythm.
"The main theme is introspection," Rae continues. "The past four years have been such a trying time with constant change. Sometimes it felt like I was staring into the void, and I decided to document the moment by writing these songs."
As the sound fades into the ether, we're reminded that the road goes on forever, shuttling us from the past toward whatever future lies ahead. The Void is the soundtrack to that unending journey, whipped into existence by a singer/songwriter who's dedicated to the long haul.
Tracklisting:
01) The Void
02) Maybe I’m The Villain
03) Cologne
04) Telluride
05) Undertone
06) Celebrating Alone
07) Not Mine
08) Hi
09) Trapped
10) The Airport Song
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