Outlaster

Untitled

"Outlaster" is the sixth studio album from acclaimed singer/songwriter Nina Nastasia, released June 7 on FatCat Records.

The album was once again recorded by long-time collaborator Steve Albini at Electrical Audio Studios in Chicago. Los Angeles-based arranger Paul Bryan conducted score for a small orchestra, while Nina and Kennan Gudjonsson assembled string and woodwind quartets. Jay Bellerose, who appeared on previous albums The Blackened Air and On Leaving, makes his returns on drums while Tortoise member Jeff Parker performs guitar.

A single, "Cry, Cry Baby," was released in advance of the record on May 10 internationally and May 18 in the U.S. and Canada.

Recording and background

Recording sessions for the album took place over the course of four days at Electrical Audio Studios in Chicago from March 9–12, 2009. The album was tracked by the full band during the first three days, with conductor Paul Bryan admitting that "[...] things got off to an alarmingly slow start, but we eventually fell into a groove; I would rehearse the strings while Nina, Jay and Jeff would fool around with ideas. Once I felt we were ready to track, I would grab a bass and hope that we could pull off something usable while the tape was still rolling." Piano, woodwind and horn sections were overdubbed at the beginning of the fourth day of recording, with Steve Albini completing the mixing of the record by the end of that same night.

Nina Nastasia's long-time companian Kennan Gudjonsson has been confirmed as being a "de facto" producer for the record. On his short recording log of the sessions, conductor Paul Bryan stated that Kennan is "a musician missing an instrument; he has ultra-musical instincts and was a great set of ears in the control room. It was an intense four days and really fun."

Although no studio version of album opener and lead single "Cry, Cry, Baby" is known to have been recorded prior to its inclusion on Outlaster, the track had been performed live numerous times since the Run To Ruin era, most notably as part of her third Peel Session in December 2002 — under the title "Cry Baby" — along with "Party Favour," which would later be re-titled "Your Red Nose" and released as the b-side to What She Doesn't Know.

Release and promotion

"Cry, Cry, Baby" was released as the first single from the album — and also the first song to be released as a single from any Nina Nastasia album — as both a digital download and a limited edition 7" vinyl single on May 10 internationally and May 18 in the U.S. and Canada. All editions of the single contain the previously unreleased track "Our Gang" as the b-side. The b-side is one of Nastasia's most recent songs — recorded separately from the album sessions — and is expected to be remade in the future with a "broader arrangement."

"You Can Take Your Time" was performed frequently during the 2008 European solo acoustic tour. The album version was released in August 2009 as part of FatCat Records' 2009 Sampler and is available for a limited time as a free download to anyone who signs up with the FatCat Records mailing list.

On March 31, album track "You're a Holy Man" was officially previewed to the public as a free download on ClashMusic. The track, along with "Cry, Cry, Baby," was later added to Nastasia's MySpace profile, while a music video for "Cry, Cry, Baby" — her only music video to date — was released as an exclusive stream on Pitchfork.tv.

On May 4, ClashMusic launched an exclusive competition in which the winner would receive a screen-print of the Outlaster artwork, a tote bag and a "luxerious" vinyl copy of the album. On the same date, album track "What's Out There" was officially premiered on Stereogum's website, who described the track as being "dramatic [and] ambitious... the piece is gleefully exploding at the seems." A limited run of 250 screen-prints and tote bags are now being sold at Nastasia's official web-store.

The album was made available for pre-order at iTunes on May 19. Notably, the pre-order listed an 11th track that, up until that point, had not been advertised or mentioned in any press release or article. The delicate acoustic track has the unusual title of "I'monamotherfuckingboat" (sic).

Nina, accompanied by touring violinist Matt Szemela, performed an acoustic session on BBC6 Music's Marc Riley program on May 25. The duo performed three tracks — "Wakes," "Outlaster" and "This Familiar Way" — from the album, as well as conducting a brief interview. This was the first of "more sessions, interviews and video streams [to be] announced in the coming weeks."

The details of a short UK and European tour were announced at the beginning of April. The gigs, coinciding with the release of the record, are in advance of a more intensive touring programme for the early Autumn set to be announced soon.

Tour dates

Date	City	Country	Venue
Europe
May 13, 2010	Berlin	Germany	101 / Admiralspalast
May 14, 2010	Paris	France	Espace B
May 22, 2010	Reading	United Kingdom	South Street Arts Centre
May 23–24, 2010	London		Café OTO
May 25, 2010	Manchester		St Margaret's Church
May 26, 2010	Newcastle		Cluny 2
May 27, 2010	Glasgow		Nice and Sleazy's
May 28, 2010	Bristol		The Folk House
May 29, 2010	London		The Betsey Trotwood
May 30, 2010	Southampton		Talking Heads
May 31, 2010	Brighton		The Freebutt

Critical reception

The album is said to be a marked departure from Nastasia's "celebrated sparse, stripped-down aesthetic," containing at least one tango-inspired piece, the 'lushly orchestrated' "This Familiar Way." A brief description of the album found on the press release stated:

The orchestra takes a more formal approach with Paul Bryan’s powerfully affecting score, hearkening back to the likes of Gil Evans and the late Phil Ochs. Burnished with lustrous horns and reeds bolstered by a string ensemble, the record marks a distinct shift as much for her record label as for Nina Nastasia herself. ‘Cry, Cry, Baby’ is a perfect vehicle for Nina’s stunning and masterful voice. A beautiful, stately slow-burn of a song, it sees her vocal swoop and fall in powerfully emotive ways that few of her peers can match, perfectly foiled by the incredibly impressive but unshowy musicianship. Deeply moving and mature, it’s simply very, very classy stuff.

Tracklisting

All songs written and composed by Nina Nastasia.

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Cry, Cry, Baby"	3:43
2.	"Moves Away"	1:50
3.	"You're A Holy Man"	3:33
4.	"You Can Take Your Time"	4:49
5.	"This Familiar Way"	5:03
6.	"What's Out There"	3:59
7.	"A Kind of Courage"	4:08
8.	"Wakes"	4:23
9.	"One Way Out"	2:55
10.	"Outlaster"	5:20

iTunes Bonus Track

No.	Title	Length
11.	"I'monamotherfuckingboat"	1:51

Release history

Region	Date	Label	Format	Catalog #
Ireland	June 4, 2010	FatCat Records	CD, Vinyl, Digital Download	FATCD82
United Kingdom	June 7, 2010	FatCat Records	CD, Vinyl, Digital Download	FATCD82
Japan	June 16, 2010	P-Vine Records	CD, Digital Download
United States	June 22, 2010	FatCat Records	CD, Vinyl, Digital Download	FATCD82

Personnel

• Nina Nastasia — vocals, acoustic guitar
• Steve Albini — recording, mixing
• Jay Bellerose — drums
• Paul Bryan — electric bass, piano, orchestral arrangements and conducting
• Oto Carrillo — french horn
• Stephen Day — cello
• James Falzone — clarinet
• Kennan Gudjonsson — artwork, musical direction
• June Matayoshi — oboe, english horn
• Jeff Parker — electric guitar
• Jason Stein — bass clarinet
• Matt Szemela — violin
• Amie Weiss — violin
• Dylan Willemsa — arrangement on "What's Out There" (with Paul Bryan)
• Lev 'Ljova' Zhurbin — viola