After the release of 2016’s Cross The Verge, Joana Serrat sets back out on tour, performing at Manchester’s Fred’s Ale House on 28 January.
On Cross The Verge, her third album, Joana lays bare all the cracks, inconsistencies and fears that come with life, with the album revealing itself to be an especially beautiful tribute to the acknowledgment of loss and the acceptance of the uncertain. The album is the follow up to her enchanting 2014 release Dear Great Canyon.
The album was recorded in Montreal where Serrat teamed up with producer Howard Bilerman in his analogue studio, The Hotel2Tango. The recording of the album also saw her joined by the likes of Gavin Gardiner (The Wooden Sky), Aaron Goldstein (Daniel Romano, City & Colour, Cowboy Junkies) and the acclaimed Canadian auto harpist and vocalist Basia Bulat, whilst Neil Halstead (Slowdive, Mojave 3) and Ryan Boldt (The Deep Dark Woods) provided vocals for two duets – Cloudy Heart and Black Lake.
Howard Bilerman’s approach results in Cross The Verge feeling like a natural progression and a show of real maturity. Her ability to never waste a lyric or syllable where something need be said and never miss an opportunity to breathe life into a song’s darker corners, illustrates her creative growth. Cross The Verge is a beguiling collection of songs that move with great ease between the precious evanescence of Lonely Heart Reverb, Oh, Winter Come or Flags, and the vigorous guitar sound that predominates in Desert Valley, Tug of War, and the moving Black Lake. There’s elegance in the trotting Americana rhythms of Saskatoon (Break of Dawn), I Follow You, Child and the crystalline Cloudy Heart.
The Manchester Fred’s Ale House show is one of 7 UK dates, before a run of European shows and a performance as SXSW in March.
Joana Serrat performs at Fred’s Ale House on 28 January 2017.
Image courtesy Elba Fernández