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Aug 26, 2020 By Christopher Roberts Laura Veirs

Laura Veirs is releasing a new album, My Echo, on October 23 via Raven Marching Band and Bella Union. Now she has shared another song from the album, “Turquoise Walls,” via a video for it. Watch the Jason Quigley-directed video below.

“This song is about me angsting in my room late at night staring at the bedroom walls that my ex and I painted turquoise,” Veirs says in a press release. “I like how the Nashville guitar and the banjo add a feeling of lightness to this song with rather dark lyrics. I wrote a bunch of versions of this song; I hit the sweet spot on version #5. This song uses only four chords throughout. Sometimes simpler is better when crafting catchy tunes!”

Previously Veirs shared the album’s first single, “Burn Too Bright,” which was one of our Songs of the Week.

Veris’ last record The Lookout was released in April of 2018. Since then she has separated from her husband, producer Tucker Martine. According to her, My Echo tracks through this difficult time in her life. She does get some help though, with features from Jim James, Bill Frisell, Karl Blau, M. Ward, and many others.

Veirs previously released this press statement on My Echo:

“My Echo is my 11th solo album. It’s my ‘my songs knew I was getting divorced before I did’ album. My conscious mind was trying as hard as I could to keep my family together but my subconscious mind was working on the difficult struggles in my marital life. I was part of a ‘Secret Poetry Group’ that met and wrote poems monthly for a year during the writing of this record. Many of my poems turned into songs for this album. By the time the album was being mixed last fall, my ex-husband/producer Tucker Martine and I had decided to go our separate ways. We were a great musical team for many years but we struggled to be compatible in our marriage and family life and that struggle is reflected in this album.

“In this new batch of songs I imagine escaping from some sort of prison or cage. Advancing age, the confines of domesticity, our oppressive government and the threat of the apocalypse permeate these songs. In these songs my heart craves certainty and permanence but none is to be found. It’s an album about disintegration. It reveals my artist’s intuition at work.

“Although these songs were written before quarantine they are strangely relevant to times in which we find ourselves currently. You will find me staring at the walls (‘Turquoise Walls’). You will find me feeling grateful to be alive (‘Memaloose Island’). You will find me accepting the ephemeral nature of life (‘Vapor Trails’ and ‘All the Things’). You will find me searching for personal freedom while feeling trapped (‘Freedom Feeling’). You will find me trying to accept that sometimes the best thing to do is to sit still and do nothing at all (‘Another Space and Time’).

“I hope you enjoy these new songs.”

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