After a full U.S. tour with Kevin Morby in 2016 and a solo tour in Italy in 2017, Bartell returned
to his former home of Asheville, NC for a three-week recording session in April 2017. The
timing could not have been better, as nearly all of his musician allies from recordings past
were either in town or passing through - his longtime and ongoing collaborator, guitar artist
Shane Parish (Ahleuchatistas); multi-instrumentalist Michael Libramento; songwriter, singer, and
musician Angel Olsen; J Seger and Emily Easterly, who played on 2015's Loyalty; percussion
marvel Ryan Oslance (Ahleuchatistas); and singer Noel Thrasher. All was brought together by
producer and engineer Adam McDaniel at his Drop of Sun Studios in West Asheville, where
he and Bartell worked to capture the mostly live performances, experimenting with recording
techniques and improvised instruments like an open window with chimes and springtime birds
or a deconstructed music box, winding the tune "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" backwards.
Bartell's third album for Sinderlyn is a record in the full meaning of the word - of sounds, of
friendships new and old, of songs that compel repeated listens and that deepen and grow
richer each time. Stay with these songs, and they will stay with you.