A new year, a new record!
A brand new solo collection of Americana songs by the Englishman for a French label is now available for download. Yes, you read that right.
Click here for the iTunes link.
BLAZE OF GLORY is a set of ten Spottiswoode songs produced by none other than Enemies guitarist, Riley McMahon, for the French soundtrack label, Super Pitch. Curated by the genius Parisian brothers, Thomas and Gregoire Couzinier, the record features some of Spottiswoode's most cinematic numbers.
Opening with the title track, a brooding Springsteenesque piece of American gothic, the record runs through the classic jumble of emotions typical of all Spottiswoode collections. The lilting Oh My Love supplies the requisite touch of heartbreak, Now That I'm Out Of The Hospital some trademark insanity, while Got Soul and Nothing's Gonna Stop Me are almost uncharacteristically peppy. The record even features a country duet. The extraordinary chanteuse, Jennifer Middaugh, completely upstages the Englishman on Off The Merry-Go-Round and then contrives to sing the closing track, Company, on her own.
"This record was a lot of fun to make. First of all, it's always a delight woking with Riley. We tracked one song a day. I would lay down acoustic guitar and layers of vocals and then watch Riley play everything else: banjo, electric and acoustic guitars, bass, keyboards, lap steel, glockenspiel, piano, drums, whatever the tracks required. I barely had to make any decisions. Many of the songs are old unused ditties I'd hidden away in the basement. It was great to dust them off and let them breathe. On the other hand, I'd only just written So Much To Do a few weeks before we started tracking. Instant indulgence and probably my favorite track on the record. Thanks to Thomas and Gregoire for commissioning these songs and sending them out into the universe."
The title track has already been featured in a French television commercial for the charity, Fondation de France.
