I’ve been listening to Catie’s new CD “Sweet Life” that will be released on September 9…which you can pre-order HERE!  It’s been a while since Long Night Moon and I was excited to hear the results of her new adventure in recording down in Nashville.  I’m not disappointed.

She said, “We’re at this juncture where a lot of folks are working on their records in home studios and making them sound craftily small, but I really wanted to go in the other direction toward a big, warm, friendly sound.  The songs are meant to be open and confident, and I don’t know that they’d have carried as well if they were done stripped down and bare bones.”

Well, I might disagree that they all wouldn’t have carried as well.  Having already heard most of these songs in concert with just her and her guitar, I think there are a couple that would carry just fine stripped down…but that’s kinda how I like things anyway.  However, I understand what she’s thinking as far as the whole presentation…creating a CD isn’t just one song or two, it’s an entire experience and you want all the songs to flow and compliment each other.

“Sweet Life” delivers on that very theme of the title cut.  One of the things I’ve always admired about Catie’s music is her songwriting and song craftsmanship…particularly, the storytelling.  I hear Catie’s life shine through as she shares stories and songs that others can let shine through their lives as well.  This CD is packed full of songs of love, optimism, perseverance, acceptance and family.  You also hear a wide range of Catie’s music influences - pop, soul, folk, rock - in this set of tunes that gives us love songs and life songs…songs that you can dance around the house with and others that make you want just candles and that someone special.

I’m not a great reviewer of technical music stuff, but here are my thoughts about the “Sweet Life” line up.  And to hear some clips of these, head over to the Compass Records Store.

1. Sweet Life

• Love lost, life moves, wrong loves…leads me to you.
• Plans that didn’t come true…but look, it led me to you
• Happy, bubbly, mandolin leads and filling in fills nice depth, reminiscent of Jimmy as her side man
• Nice touch of National guitar

2. Are You Ready to Fly?

• More pop sound than live shows have been with some fun organ and lead guitar riffs
• Gives a nice “end of summer” feel; good friends facing the end of innocence

3. Everything Waiting to Grow

• Lots of organ lending feel toward spiritual origins of naming Joshua Trees
• Starts low register, crescendo
• I like the visual of the desert…everything waiting to grow with some rain, the beauty that blossoms in the spring…a blossoming of love song

4. For Now

• A Catie style sultry love song
• Nice slow song dance in ¾ tempo with a nice organ lead and sweet piano
• A song that just makes you want be with the one you want to cuddle

“Nothing to do that can’t wait
When we’re skin against skin, human again In a world we create”

5. Happy

• Nice little rockin’ intro; a light, foot-tapping ditty
• Song that kind of epitomizes the “folk-rock” part of the Catie who is the “folk-rock goddess”
• Catchy hook “come on, come on let yourself be happy”…who can argue?

6. What You Can’t Believe

• A song about those questions of life and the impact we have on the world
• About families, relationships and the continuing learning journey we’re on
• A song of affirmation to a partner that we’re in this together
• Not my favorite instrumentation…although I know Catie was going for a “full-bodied” sound on this CD, I think I would liked to have heard this one a little barer than what it is.

7. Lovely

• I just LOVE this ditty!
• Fun, swing tempo…very reminiscent of 1940’s dance hall; great piano
• Unrequited and secret love
• Catie always introduced this talking about a movie she’d love to make…I had scenes of that already in my head!

8. Sing

• As an old camp director myself, the line “they ring the bells, ring the bells, to move us along” brings back a lot of old memories!
• This is a very sweet song for her daughter…and us
• Kind of anthemic feel, definitely a ’sing along’ song
• A nice lead guitar solo after the bridge

9 . Soul Meets Body (Death Cab for Cutie cover)

• I didn’t know the song from DCFC very well…but I’ve listened (and watched!) it several times on YouTube as I compared Catie’s version…before I voted for her on the Clash of the Covers!
• I think this is a great cover that really does the original justice.  Spinner thinks so too when they say, “Known for her alt-folk sound, the Maine-bred singer-songwriter demonstrates her hidden pop side. Although her version is slightly more melodic and a tad slower, she still manages to create the magical feel that the original had cultivated.”

10. Fools

• Pop-rockin’
• Only song with some strings…sounds like a little bit of reverb on an electric fiddle…but what do I know?!
• Point?  Quit worrying, let go, love, live

11. The Princess & The Mermaid

• A love song all about life with kids and with each other

12. Over

• A sing along chorus that I think is a good way to end…

“I don’t want it to be over
I don’t want to go
I don’t want to go
Not every rock wants to roll
I don’t want to go”

But do go…go and order this gem right now.
I can’t wait to hear what you think of “Sweet Life”.

Indeed…all singing “Yellow Submarine” together!  Won’t that be the picture?!  Want to catch a teaser?  Check out the video below, then stay tuned to etown to watch it!

Spinner’s contest…go NOW!  Vote Catie!
Okay…so Catie covered Death Cab for Cutie’s “Soul Meets Body” (and it’s on the new, soon to be released “Sweet Life“) because she really likes them as songwriters and musicians.  And hey…it’s a nice song (weirdish video) but catchy song.  I do like their “ba da ba ba ba” hook a little better than Catie…but hey, we’re talking Catie here…so of COURSE I’ll vote for her…besides the fact that I really do like her version too.

Stay tuned…Catie’s new CD “Sweet Life” is coming September 9, but you can pre-order it now! You can already see how her own website is introducing it and listen to a few clips on Compass Records page!

I’ve had the privileged of getting an early review copy, and let me tell ya, it’s a fun…and sweet one! It’s likely that those of you having been to any shows in the last couple of years have heard some of the songs as she introduced them in her shows, like ‘Lovely’ (her movie theme), ‘Are You Ready to Fly?’ (Teenagers jumping off the bridge), ‘Everything Waiting to Grow’ (Joshua Trees), ‘Sing’ (camp & spiders), ‘The Princess & the Mermaid’ (kids). Death Cab for Cutie fans might even recognize Catie’s cover of their “Soul Meets Body“.

I’ll give a more detailed review as it nears release…and we help introduce it here with a new look. For now, I’ll just say that there are several songs on there that are heart touchers, a couple that are just ‘Happy’, and everything in between. I don’t find it abundantly rockin’, but it’s certainly got a nice full band sound with lot’s of Nashville’s best filling it all in with her. Recorded in Nashville, but don’t think “country”…it’s still full of Catie’s “folk-rock goddess”-ness with her parental love shining through!

Hard to believe it’s been 3 years since “Long Night Moon”, but exciting to have a new Catie CD on the way! Check it out!