Janet Simpson proved she could do swagger with the first single from her new album “Safe Distance” (out on March 19th from Cornelius Chapel Records), the sassy ‘Nashville Girls‘, but the multi-instrumentalist singer-songwriter is no one-trick pony. On the new single ‘Slip‘ she presents another side – there’s a slight edge of unease and a hint of latent peril conveyed through the guitar and vocal on this slow ballad. And some desperation.
Janet Simpson shared her thoughts on the ‘Slip‘ with us: “‘Slip’ is kind of a lonesome song, I think. There are times where you might be sitting at a bar well past when you meant to stay, and you start to see things around you differently. Maybe it’s more honest or maybe it’s less in touch with reality. But there’s a moment where you realize you really need to get out of there before things go completely south. It’s hard to pull off alone, though – you need a partner to help you make your getaway – a co-conspirator. It could be a stranger who you realize is having the same scary experience of waking up, or it could be a friend you suddenly see in a different light. There is a sense of real danger in that moment of clarity, either way, and in the end, you probably need to go it alone.”
The album ‘Safe Distance’ is far from Simpson’s first work, even if it is her first big soloalbum. Janet Simpson has recorded with Delicate Cutters, wielded guitar for Teen Getaway, toured the U.S. and Europe as a crucial member of Wooden Wand and the World War IV, and found a new writing partner in fellow Birmingham, AL musician Will Stewart – with whom she fronts the lean, atmosphere-forward duo, Timber. A musician of many parts and ‘Slip‘is the evidence that solo artist is far from the least of them.
Photo: Jared Swafford
