JEFFREY MARTIN + ANNA TIVEL | Lamplight Sessions | Mosinee WI

Jeffrey Martin is a minister's son who can build a house with his bare hands and holds a master's degree in English. He worked his way though school as a carpenter, then following graduation, spent four years teaching high school. It was during that time that his career as a songwriter came into bloom. Struggling to strike a balance between his increasingly rigorous Northwest/West Coast touring and his efforts to get teenagers to love words as much as he did, Martin found himself in a tricky position of having to choose between his two passions.

Much to the delight of his fans, music won the day. Now with three intensely lyric-driven albums under his belt, two of which were released on the Portlands indie-label, Fluff & Gravy Records, Martin has developed a loyal and growing audience, both domestically and abroad.

He writes music that probes the depths of the human experience and doesn't shy away from its darkest corners. His songs feel like short stories from literary giants like Steinbeck, Burroughs, or Cormac McCarthy and possess a raw intensity that comes from seeing his subjects up close. All the struggle, hurt, strife, and heartbreak that comes from living in this world are laid bare and unvarnished, yet somehow Martin manages to mine and make space for what beauty remains.

Anna Tivel’s newest album Outsiders starts with a lens so wide that we have left the planet to look back from a great distance at the turmoil and beauty of our shared humanity. From there, the lens pulls close and unfolds in a gripping collection of stories so often ignored. Tivel’s flawed and honest characters move through a landscape of hurt and loss, of small triumph and big love. In 11 songs full of recognition, veracity and hope, Tivel’s watchful and empathetic eye details the undeniable ache of living.

"Outsiders, look up / The night is dark but brilliant and it turns out we are not so different"

Recorded almost entirely live to tape in Rock Island, IL with producer and multi-instrumentalist Shane Leonard and engineer Brian Joseph (Bon Iver, Sufjan Stevens), the album is a truly collaborative exploration. Tivel gathered the same vibrant group of friends from her acclaimed record, The Question, which NPR heralded as “one of the most ambitious folk records of 2019.”

Throughout her work, Tivel has emphasized storytelling and this album is no exception, building on the strength of her ability to observe and reflect with a clear-eyed empathy. Inspired by authors from Steinbeck to Morrison, Didion to Dubus, she imbues her songs with attentive detail and a dreamlike quality that leaves the ordinary feeling both palpable and poetic. “Tivel’s characters are common but unforgettable,” NPR’s Ann Powers writes, “Her images linger, and become populated with the energy of the real.”