Description

Overnight Lows gleams with engaging melodies and intelligent wordplays, performed with a sophisticated fluency in pop, jazz, soul and Americana dialects that makes it a delight to behold.Players on the record include Jay Bellerose Robert Plant, Alison Krauss, Tyler Chester George Ezra, Andy Hess The Black Crowes, David Byrne and Rich Hinman Sara Bareilles. The album was recorded at Village Studios in Los Angeles.As Sunny says herself, its communicated with soul and simplicity, and its always groovy. It could hardly be anything else, informed as it is by her passion for such inspirations as Bonnie Raitt, David Byrne, Cassandra Wilson and Aretha Franklin. Sunny vividly remembers how, in her late teens, she splashed out on the Queen of Souls box set of Atlantic finery, and practically wore it out. ldquoIt got into my tissues,rdquo she says.Sunny and her husband Sir Patrick Stewart now divide their time between Brooklyn and Los Angeles, and it was on the West Coast that her new album came into being, sculpted from lyrical and musical sketches that she carried in her pocket during Overnight Lowsrsquo careful incubation.ldquoOvernight Lows came to me pretty early in the writing process,rdquo she remembers. ldquoThen it was like OK, thats what the albums called, now Ive got to write the recordrdquo To say that she rose to the challenge would be a distinct understatement, and all the more of an achievement since her last, very different recording project, 2015s Take It With Me, was comprised of her interpretations of other writers, from Hank Williams via Ray Charles to Tom Waits.The album displays Sunnys love of language and an intimate, soulful delivery, from the cruising feel of Driving Highways at one end mdash with its clever incorporation of a key line from Dobie Grays 1970s soulful singalong Drift Away mdash to the bluesy, smoochy Take You Down at the other. ldquoAlmost like selfanalysis,rdquo she adds, ldquoI went back through it and thought Holy shit, theres a lot about night in here, and not sleeping, and wrestling with memories.rdquoAs personal as these songs are, Ozell is perfectly happy for them to assume their own individual meaning to the listener. ldquoI was really ready to be reflective, but I dont necessarily need to have my agenda known,rdquo she says. ldquoI know from every song thats ever moved me that when you love something at first glance but it continues to yield up deeper levels of meaning, thats really art.Overnight Lows is fuelled by a lifetime relationship with music that started when Sunny began violin lessons at the age of four. ldquoI started taking singing lessons at 11 years old,rdquo she says. ldquoNow, if I were to try to teach someone to sing, I wouldnt know the first thing about that. Its very much second nature to me. Really its the psychological stuff thats the hard part.rdquo This record was developed in a particularly busy period following Sunnyrsquos last full release, Take It With Me, which saw Sunny tour across the UK regularly including prominent support slots for The Rails and Teddy Thompson amongst others in recent years, Sunny has become a stalwart of the vibrant Americana and Roots music scene in the Britain, as well as performing on Jools Hollandrsquos BBC Radio 2 show. Sunny Ozell Signed-LP is available for home delivery from Vinyl Records London, only £17.99