Vanessa Carlton
Vanessa Carlton Announces Cover Project, Premieres Video for First Track via Billboard
“Vanessa Carlton has refined her voice as a songwriter.” – Rolling Stone
“Carlton’s voice is the key attraction on songs that register between low-key pop, rock, and folk.” – Pitchfork
“…she’s back, she’s dreamy, there’s some sort of arty thing going on here, she’s moved to Nashville, had a baby girl with Deer Tick’s John McCauley, and simply sounds better than ever.” – Yahoo
“The visual collage is the perfect fit for Carlton’s organic take on the 2010 electro-pop anthem, which tones down the propulsive production for a loose and earnest approach.” – Billboard
Vanessa Carlton unveils the video for her cover of Robyn’s “Call Your Girlfriend” premiering on Billboard. The video adds a retro twist to the song with footage of women and their significant others throughout the ages.
Last week she released the first of six cover songs that she plans to release over the coming months, starting with “Call Your Girlfriend” which she premiered via Stereogum.
“It’s great when a song with nuance like this blows up in pop culture. The lyric is so clever. Once I took it on, I realized the structure is far more unconventional than you might think as well. Plus I got to play with members of the band Deer Tick on this. They happened to be in Nashville when I was recording this song. Dennis Ryan played drums and Chris Ryan played bass. So fresh.”
“I found Patrick McPheron, the director, on YouTube! I was immediately struck by his musicality and his eerie aesthetic. I love it when you come across a video that is so compelling that you have to watch it until the end. How rare! I reached out to McPheron through Instagram (@interiorstate) and asked him if he wanted to do a few videos for me. This is one of a couple. I love the juxtaposition of this video….how prim and proper these couples are set against a song about betrayal. It’s very Patrick.”
Fans first were first given a taste of Carlton’s musical evolution when she released the critically-acclaimed studio album Liberman in 2015. The ten songs on the album reflected on Vanessa’s current state of mind since moving from NYC to Nashville, marrying husband John McCauley (Deer Tick) and having a baby girl. The simple instrumentation mixed with her wistful vocals and poignant lyrics brought you into her world and showcased a new side to this accomplished songwriter.