CORTNEY TIDWELL
Don’t Let Stars Keep Us Tangled Up
U.S. RELEASE FEBRUARY 20, 2007
“The title track alone would make a one-eyed hillbilly weep into his moonshine.”–Q
“A mesmerising synthesis of Mama Cass, Mary Margaret O’Hara and Bjork… A kaleidoscopic, dizzying album… An exhilarating debut from an irrefutably original new talent”–MOJO
“Gorgeous experimental vistas and big hooks… The leap in assurance from her debut mini-album is boggling – Tidwell could be a truly major talent.”–Word
EVER RECORDS announces the U.S. release of CORTNEY TIDWELL’s internationally acclaimed debut album, Don’t Let Stars Keep Us Tangled Up. In the wake of universal UK press raves and an extensive UK/European tour, the album will see U.S. release Feb. 20, 2007.
TIDWELL’s singular talent is hardly a surprise given her lineage: a grandfather who performed at The Grand Ole Opry and recorded successfully for Decca Records in the 1950s; her late mother, a former Miss Nashville runner-up and also a regular performer at The Grand Ole Opry whose own recording career soared in the 1970s until cut short by struggles with manic depression and ultimately cancer; a father who still works on Nashville’s Music Row, having started his career as an A&R for Chart Records, founded in turn by his father.
A self-titled debut EP surfaced in March 2005, on which CORTNEY’s darkest childhood memories were made manifest in music of fascinating beauty: skeletal and spare country infused laments sprinkled with subtle flourishes of electronics, her voice an arresting and vulnerable instrument that recalls the likes of Leslie Feist, Hope Sandoval and Liz Fraser whilst maintaining a character all its own.
Don’t Let Stars Keep Us Tangled Up was recorded during the latter half of 2005 in Nashville, and features guest appearances from Kurt Wagner and William Tyler of Lambchop, Jonathon Marx (a founding ex-member of Lambchop) and Ryan Norris of Nashville electronic act Hands Off Cuba. It was co-produced by TIDWELL, her husband Todd and Norris. Since its overseas release, CORTNEY, who had previously only left the U.S. once, when her mother ran away with her to Montreal, has completed tours of Europe and the UK. Her live show has featured her alternating between keyboards, guitar or drums, sometimes even singing, drumming and playing the omnichord simultaneously, and more recently, performing with a full band featuring musicians who performed on the album, including Ryan Norris, Scott Martin and William Tyler of Lambchop.