Tattletale Saints return to NZ with new album in tow
Summer 2020 sees Tattletale Saints return home to celebrate the release of their new album, Dancing Under the Dogwoods, which just came out on January 24th.
Originally from Auckland, 2014 Tui Award winners Tattletale Saints now live in Music City USA, Nashville Tennessee. With the 2020 release of their third full-length album, vocalist/guitarist Cy Winstanley and vocalist/bassist Vanessa McGowan celebrate choosing a tough path and conquering seemingly insurmountable obstacles to chase a dream.
With thoughtful and minimal production, their third release showcases the duo’s perfectly intertwined harmony vocals and Winstanley’s clever yet emotional songwriting. Their musicianship, while always masterful, feels relaxed here, as though they no longer have to prove themselves. It is clear that Winstanley and McGowan have spent years working towards the creation of music that is organic, honest and effervescent.
In their music and in their lives, Tattletale Saints don’t bow to societal pressure. One of the album’s standout tracks, “D.I.N.K.” highlights the joys of being childfree. “Double income/no kiddies/living downtown close to the city/doing what we want/happy as a clam/money in our pockets/time on our hands” the duo sings. The song feels so good that one wonders why anyone would ever want to have a family.
“Neither of us is trying to force the songs into any one genre,'' says McGowan of the album’s 10 tracks, which move from country and cajun influences to jazz and folk-rock with ease, and include a melancholy reimagining of ABBA’s “Dancing Queen”.
Their extensive tour sees them travel up and down the country, with forthcoming show dates below:
February
6 Invercargill Southland Musicians Club
19 Tauranga Gallery at Te Puna Quarry Park
