Here is the profound new single from Oregon-based singer-songwriter Anna Tivel. Singing with hushed tones initially, her voice soars as the song grows. The upbeat rhythms and throbbing bass move ‘Disposable Camera’ along while Tivel’s beautifully tuneful vocal dances over layered keys and guitar. Tivel’s words manage to seek a greater truth and be conversational at the same time – it’s a sign of her immense skill as a songwriter that her lyrics can be universal and explore the nature of our existence while being remaining rooted in our reality: “Before you come into the world you should know // there are things that will hurt and things that won’t // like scraping your knees on the asphalt // and the freedom right before you fell // nobody tells it like it is // they say ‘isn’t it lovely,’ and ‘buck up kid,’ // but you learn how to breathe just by doing it // how to dream until you believe yourself.”
Tivel says of the song: “A song for the everything of it all. For the wild science fiction of coming into the world. For the way it will break your heart. For the way it will make it race. Sometimes songs are slow and archaeological, and sometimes they come busting out in one furious motion, just a feverish feeling needing to come alive in language. I guess I wrote ‘Disposable Camera’ in this frame of mind, trying to get at the chaos and the meaning, the roulette wheel of places and situations to be born into, and the deep human urge to find beauty in the struggle.” Such incredible ambition is on display in attempting to write such a song. Filmed and produced by Kale Chesney, the accompanying video is intriguing and there are some fabulous dance moves for views to emulate.
The single is from the forthcoming album ‘Living Thing’, written is a surge of creativity during a turbulent 2020. Tivel says: “I wrote feverishly in the strange chaos of that year, suddenly out of work and attempting to understand the shifting human fabric, the depth of desperation and the overwhelming tenacity of spirit. The resulting songs felt rhythmic and vital, with more melody and soaring chorus than I’ve explored in the past. There was no way and no means to gather a full band, and I brought the songs to Shane’s doorstep knowing and fully trusting the skill and exuberance of his creative imagination. Shane stripped everything down to the studs and we rebuilt it together, just the two of us for a month in his garage studio, Shane dreaming up each sonic layer while I chased the lyrics to one last double chorus.”
Recorded in collaboration with long-time friend Shane Leonard (Bon Iver, Field Report), ‘Living Thing’ has an immediate, engaging impact – there’s more of a melodic-pop sensibility than much of Tivel’s previous work. With such carefully crafted songs and thoughtful writing, this could be an early contender for album-of-the-year. Look out for ‘Living Thing’ on 31st May 2024.
