Jet-lagged from having flown from Berlin to Los Angeles, Alison Sudol at first sounds a bit groggy on the line. Back home in time to mark the release this week of Bomb In A Birdcage—her sophomore album with A Fine Frenzy—she eases into the telephone conversation like settling into a comfortable chair.
She’s been on the road with her band for the better part of two years, performing tracks from A Fine Frenzy’s critically acclaimed 2007 debut, One Cell In The Sea, as well as, more recently, some of her latest work. “We’ve played a few shows so far with the new music,” she says. “It is so much fun.”
Part of that fun is due to the precocious spirit and spunk of Bomb In A Birdcage, a creative shift in some respects yet one which Sudol is all too happy to explore.
Speaking with Donald Gibson of Blogcritics Magazine, Alison Sudol discusses A Fine Frenzy's new album, how she bolstered her confidence as a songwriter, and her thoughts on another band who also released music this week.
Your first album had kind of a melancholy vibe to it and this new one—at least musically—is a lot livelier in some cases. Is that something you wanted the music to reflect this time around?
Definitely. I was in a very depressed head-space, really, from creating the first one. And I wanted different things for the album, but also for the live show. I really just wanted to let loose and have fun. Also, I was pretty worn-out when I came home from touring for a couple of years. And I was kind of using the music as a rope to pull me back into feeling positive about things again. As a result, there’s a lot of energy in there to help myself find it again.
Was it hard to write that kind of a song when you weren’t feeling particularly energetic?
No, it was actually great because it brought me to that place. At first I just would start writing and then I would end up feeling the way that the song dictated.
Like a self-fulfilling prophesy.
Exactly!
“Electric Twist” strikes me as something that’s going to go over real well live. Is that something you’re looking forward to, doing these songs out on the road?
Yeah I am...We’ve been opening our shows with “Electric Twist” and people who’ve seen us before or who’ve heard One Cell but aren’t familiar with this new album are kind of shocked at first.
The cover of Bomb In A Birdcage is striking in comparison to the first album, which had such bright, vivid imagery. This one is stark, black and white. Was that intentional and does it reflect anything about the music?
Article comments
1 - MarkSaleski
nice interview donalds. she seems very down to earth and genuine. really lookig forward to getting a copy of this one.
2 - Jordan Richardson
Good job, buddy!
3 - Donald Gibson
Thanks guys. Ms. Sudol was a joy to speak with.
4 - Glen Boyd
Not half bad to look at either, eh Donald?