Lanue is a new project (and album) from Sarah Kruger. It’s a beautiful album that captures the power of quiet and nature in song.
It has been almost seven years since Sarah released an album. She took some time of to teach to and to learn and found herself back wanting to make music but in a different way. And so Lanue was created. It is an album that is born of Americana root but branches in experimental sounds and modern folk and new genre that celebrates the seasons of the Midwest.
The album was written before the pandemic and recorded in two sessions – one winter and one summer with the same cast of amazing musicians – Steve Garrington (Low) and Sean Carey (S. Carey, Bon Iver) on production and instrumentation, JT Bates (Pieta Brown, Taylor Swift) on drums, Ben Lester (Field Report, Sufjan Stevens) on pedal steel guitar, string arrangements by Ryan Young (Trampled by Turtles) and guitar work by Erik Koskinen. The idea to record in two seasons with the same musicians was intentional. This is an album that celebrates the seasons of the Midwest – the change, the same and the movement of time.
Sarah embraces the quiet in the songs. Her voice commands attention, which is easily given. There’s something very authentic and comforting in the sound. There’s something recognizable in the lyrics, such as “Sometimes I spend all my time hating what I love the most.” We talked about that line and how universal is, that despite real love there can be a hate. Maybe it’s the hate of owning and being owned – or we noted in the era of the pandemic is may be the comfort of familiarity that’s gone on too long. There’s an honesty to the imagery, which Sarah is also bringing out in video. You can see videos for several songs on her website – and you can listen to the album online or buy it on Bandcamp. Or we decided the best way to listen to the music might be on a walk in nature.
Mostly Minnesota 