Description
Black Hollyhock
by Atoosa Grey
$14.49, paper
There is light at the end of the tunnel, but sometimes the real enlightenment comes from ruminating in the shadows.
On Dear Darkness, Atoosa Grey’s first album in a decade, the songwriter and poet explores a dialogue of fearless confrontation. “There’s a lot to learn from the unseen,” the Brooklyn-based artist acknowledges, “and this collection of songs is themed around that concept.”
To date, Atoosa has released four albums, toured regionally, and performed steadily at NYC’s finest listening rooms. She honed her craft weekly at the Sidewalk Cafe’s Anti-Folk scene, played regularly at The Living Room, and held her last CD Release for When the Cardinals Come at Joe’s Pub.
Outside of her music career, Atoosa is a published poet whose works have appeared in print and online journals, including Right Hand Pointing, The Best American Poetry Blog, and Dogwood Journal, among other outlets. Her first chapbook, Black Hollyhock, was released Fall 2015 on Finishing Line Press.
During her time away from music, she decided to go back to school to formally study poetry. Atoosa got an MFA in Creative Writing from The New School. “Music and poetry are my twin loves,” she admits. “They are different animals, but studying poetry has made me more particular with my lyrics.”
Post college, Atoosa ran full force on the hamster wheel of recording and gigging, but about 10 years ago took a hiatus from music. “After my last album, I felt like I needed a break,” she admits. Plus, it was a challenge balancing parenting—Atoosa is a mother of two—teaching piano, and working as an artist.
Focusing on things other than music gave Atoosa perspective. “I was starting to feel not myself, and I knew I needed to get back to songwriting,” she says.
Dear Darkness is the album she emerged with after a decade away from music. The 8-song body of work puts her first love, piano, at the forefront. She wrote it all on the instrument, and chose to texture her playing with nuanced band interplay. Her delicately powerful vocals stretch out over these elegant tracks, showcasing her growth as a singer due to watershed work with a new vocal coach in the time she was away from music.
Dear Darkness is, fittingly, a musically somber album with sprinkles of Americana. In every way, the album is centered around a gloriously pensive moodiness.
The title track features stately bowed cello, rich, upfront piano, and soulfully plaintive vocals. This song is a centerpiece of the darkness dialogue. The track brims with poetic lyrics such as: “Darkness I’ve seen your black wings/beat like moths in the heat of spring/Darkness I’m wrapped in your lace/there’s no way out of this place.”
“Night Drags On” showcases Atoosa’s bandmates’ intimate approach to accompaniment. The song also hints at a slight pop-rock catchiness which befits its overall hopeful message of feeling your way through the unknown with trust.
A sparse grandeur imbues “It Takes Time” which is replete with mesmerizing piano figures and lush layers of classically-tinged cellos. Here, Atoosa’s vocals are dynamically emotive, spanning tender melodicism to soaring expressiveness. The song explores communication breakdowns in relationships. The lyrics are searing and defiant, opening with the passage: “It’s not what you say that makes me mad/I still keep you close to me/but I won’t carry your harsh words/I know the dark can also set me free.”
The album was co-produced by Atoosa and her husband, music industry veteran Noel Grey. Joining Atoosa and Noel in the studio is gifted engineer Sascha von Oertzen. The musicians featured on the album include longtime guitarist James Mastro (Ian Hunter Band, Mott The Hoople), bassist Todd Sickafoose (Anais Mitchell, Ani DiFranco), percussionist Mathias Kunzli (Regina Spektor), cellist Dave Eggar (Esperanza Spalding, Frank Ocean), and Oboist/English Horn player Katie Scheele (Frank Ocean, Anthony Braxton). Dear Darkness was mastered by Grammy-winning engineer Emily Lazar.
Atoosa promises she won’t wait another ten years before she puts out more music. Pondering the many gifts of Dear Darkness, she says: “In telling the truth, these songs gave me hope and freedom. The dark can transform, heal, and toughen us; and ultimately struggle can be a source of much richness in our lives.”
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