Angela Perley Goes Solo with 4.30
Here she talks with Lonesome Highway about the new record, late-night song writing, touring, the Nashville scene and opening for Lucinda Williams.
The video premier of Angela Perley’s single Let’s Gofrom her current album 4.30 caught the attention of Billboard with award winning music journalist, Gary Graff describing her music as ‘’psychedelic garage pop, heartfelt country and Americana.’’
His thoughtful words served to emphasise the problem of trying to brand her sound under one simple heading. Her music embraces the psychedelic indie vibes perfected by Jesse Sykes and The Sweet Hereafter, the slick power pop output of Aimee Mann and Chrissie Hynde, yet it also touches on the rugged country sound of Lucinda Williams. It would be all too easy to pitch her under the Americana canopy, but that does not exactly fit either.
Regardless, Angela Perley is an artist with the capacity to fashion melodic songs, some laid back and others full on, that hook you in on the first listen and are likely to be locked in your memory for quite some time.
“I have a hard time describing my music myself. For me it’s probably best to just think of it as rock and roll which encompasses all that, as well as the country and blues roots. We got invited to showcase at AmericanaFest in Nashville, so people definitely see it in that genre too.’’
Currently resident in Columbus, the State capital of Ohio, she’s been enjoying a short period of downtime before touring again. ‘
“I’m back home in Columbus, Ohio now. Heading to New York City and West Virginia soon, we have a little run coming up. It’s easy to tour out of Columbus and the cost of living is affordable here right now. But the city is growing and a lot of people are moving here. I grew up in Hilliard, Ohio, which is close to Columbus, and I went to school in Southern Ohio and Athens, Ohio, and back to Columbus after college.’’
The state of Ohio has gifted us a collection of standout musicians and bands over the decades. From Dean Martin to Doris Day, Boz Scraggs to The Black Keys and Dwight Yoakam to Buddy Miller, it has inspired artists across the musical spectrums. Both The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and The Blues Music Hall of Fame are located in Cleveland. A healthy appetite for live music exists in the State.
“There is. Ohio in general is a hidden gem for music and a lot of different types of music at that. In Columbus itself there’s a big music scene and a lot of bands that are doing really well and touring out of Columbus right now. We play out of town, but our biggest shows are in Columbus and because of that we spread out our home town shows. We still love coming home to play to our local crowd, who have always been so supportive.’’
Previously recording as Angela Perley and The Howlin’ Moons, she recorded two albums on the Vital Companies label, Hey Kid in 2014 and Homemade Vision, two years later. Her latest album 4.30 was released earlier this year and it’s fair to say she has put her heart, soul and more into the project, and is reaping the rewards. The album constitutes a re-birth of sorts and a new chapter in the career of the bubbly and focused singer songwriter.
“Chris (Connor) and I were always the main people in the studio until the end, working on my songs. It wasn’t really like a band anymore. We had different multiple members playing with me in the band. It’s now like a new chapter with the new album based on the songs and Chris and I are taking a lead on it. Our previous recordings were on a local record label. This one was the first one when we weren’t on that label – it’s independent with a bit of rebranding. It gave me the opportunity to go in whatever direction I wanted.’’
The production and sound quality on the album are hugely impressive, particularly on Perley’s vocal and the guitar work by Connor. The introduction of layered vocals and strings also add to the overall album atmosphere. Co-produced by Perley and Connor, they engaged Columbus-based producer, Michael Landolt to apply the final mastering.
“We mixed it ourselves to a point, trying to capture the sound without messing around too much with it. We got it together, getting the best sounds we could. We then gave Michael an idea of exactly what we wanted and asked him to make it shine from there. He’s really advanced, working with bass and guitars and knew how we wanted it to sound. We had worked with him before. He actually produced some of our earlier stuff. We were a little scared to produce ourselves, so it was nice to have that outsider advice. But it worked out, we’ve had a great relationship with him. He gave general feedback, adding some parts here and there, which inspired Chris to try some things, add a little hook here and there. That was our last few steps.’’
I wondered about the thought process on the sequencing of the album. Some of the rockier songs like Let Goand Dangerous Loveare followed by some of the gentler tracks. With current trends with people only listening to selective tracks, this is becoming an ongoing challenge for artists.
“Oh my goodness, we had so many different orderings for the tracks, we were giving them to friends and family for comments. We wanted it to flow almost like a mini set and keep people’s attention on every song. We wanted to make an album that you listen to right through and when you circle back to the first track, the title track, it makes sense. That was probably the hardest part.’’
The album title refers to Perley’s preferred bed time and many of the songs on the album were written late at night, while the rest of the world slept. Not necessarily the most productive hours for many artists.
(Laughs) “It is for me, though it’s funny, whenever I’m travelling and with the band it’s the complete opposite, having to get up early and keep moving. If I have a strict schedule I need to get to bed early, I need about eight hours sleep. But when I’m home, I love late nights when everyone’s asleep. It’s my time to be alone and write songs. I get really creative at that time of night.’’
Don’t Look Back Maryis one of the standout tracks on the album, both in its melody and lyrics. I always find myself pressing the repeat button to hear it a second time when playing the album. Its message is a reminder that there can be light at the end of the tunnel, even when present circumstances may seem endless. Perley’s writing appears to embrace both personal and third person subjects.
“I try to put several people into a song and usually there’s a part of me that’s in the character, too. It’s usually about people I encounter and their stories. I often find beauty in sad songs and sad characters. In that song Mary is different. She’s been through a lot, but there’s that hope and strength in her that I like. I just love singing that song. I have a conceptual video for it that I’m working on right now which should be out there soon.’’
Leaving no stone unturned, the artwork on the album matches the musical content. The cover features Perley with flared cuffs, bell-bottomed hipster jeans, heavy eye liner, clutching her guitar – it’s the classic early 70s rock chic poise. It’s a striking image that sets the scene before taking the disc out of the packaging.
“I never wanted to put myself on a cover, but this is such a personal album that I put myself out there in that way. I didn’t want to cut any corners with this album. I wanted to work with artists that I admired, and that included the artwork. The designer, Keith Brogdon of Thinking Out Loud Design, who lives in Nashville, happened to be available and he does a lot of covers that have a cool retro vibe. I gave him certain things to work with, some album covers and the picture from the front cover, not much else. I wanted to keep it minimalistic, most of the covers I gave him were from the 70s. I wanted the artwork in keeping with the music and when he sent me the first shot, I knew it was definitely in the direction I wanted. ‘’
4.30 album cover
With the album out there, it’s time to continue working it, touring with a full band and also as a two piece with Connor, a relatively new experience for them.
“It’s created a few more opportunities to play as a two piece. It’s given us the chance to travel a bit more. We’d normally tour with the full band, but it’s hard to break even on some of those runs, though I try to do everything with the full band as much as possible. We normally tour lean and mean as a four piece and I also have to keep in mind that some of the musicians who tour with me have other projects that they’re working on. I’ve been more strategic this year with shorter runs, venues and places where we’ve already built up a presence over several years and also work on the festivals. They’re two different things, but I love the energy of playing with a band, it brings the songs to life. Playing as a two piece is good as a confidence builder and makes me stronger as a musician, so it’s good in that way.’’
Having seen her perform the last few years at AmericanaFest in Nashville, I’m interested to discover how that festival works for her, given that the majority of the female acts booked tend to be closer to folk and country than her. ‘
“We’ve gone the last few years. We played a showcase last year which was cool and we went this year to play a show at Tennessee Brew Company and to just take in the festival. I love it because most of my favourite bands are either playing the festival or live in Nashville. We plan to take that week off every year to go. I imagine it’s like SXSW was in the early days, before it got too big. AmericanaFest is still at the stage where it’s small enough to be like a reunion of people in the music industry. I know that the market for female artists in Nashville is more Americana and Country and with where I’m coming from it’s actually a lot harder. People often don’t know what to do with bands like us, so you have to kind of make your own path and target your own audience.’’
Angela has shared stages in recent years with both Lucinda Williams and St. Vincent, to name but two, as her profile steadily rises.
“I’m a huge Lucinda Williams’ fan. I’ve always related to her as she’s always been a rock and roller but has the country roots side, too. It was one of my most memorable shows getting to open for her. A local promoter got me the gig – he knew I was a huge fan (laughs). She played at an old ballroom in Columbus that they were trying to revive as a venue. I also got to see her at The Ryman earlier this year on her anniversary Car Wheels On A Gravel Road tour, one of my favourite albums. I’d never been to the Ryman before, either.’’
With the positive reaction to 4.30 and the inevitable touring to further promote the album, Perley seems committed to continuing on a similar musical direction.
“Recording 4.30 ourselves and putting it all together was quite an undertaking so we’re going to tour off it and probably release some acoustic versions, some singles, maybe EPs. We want to release more because I’ve a lot of songs I don’t want to leave behind. My plan for next year is to hopefully keep releasing things. I’m always writing different things and even with 4.30 it was a case of putting together a collection that made sense as an album. I had lots of other songs that I wasn’t really feeling for this album. I’m finding each record is going in a similar direction so I’m probably not going to change direction too much.”
4.30 by Angela Perley is out now self-released.
Interview by Declan Culliton Photograph by Cate Groubert