Details
Please view our most up-to-date COVID-19 guidelines before entering the show: http://www.tractortavern.com/tractor-covid-guidelines A fact well known to fans of his first, self-titled solo album, and his captivating live shows. An otherworldly instrument with an affecting vibrato, its a voice thats earned repeated comparisons to the great Roy Orbison, and even briefly had Williams, in his youth, consider a career in classical singing, before realizing his temperament was more Stratocaster than Stradivarius.But its the art of songwriting that has bedeviled the artist, and into which he has grown exponentially on his second album, Make Way For Love, out in February of 2018. Its Marlon Williams like youve never heard him beforeexploring new musical terrain and revealing himself in an unprecedented way, in the wake of a fractured relationship.In early December, Williams and his longtime girlfriend, musician Aldous (Hannah) Harding, broke upthe end of a relationship that brought together two of Down Unders most acclaimed talents of recent years, whod managed to navigate the challenges of having equally ascendantthough separatecareers, until they couldnt.While personally wrenching, the split seemed to open the floodgates for Williams as a writer. Then I wrote about fifteen songs in a month, he recalls. The biggest challenge was then condensing often complex, conflicted emotions and doing them justice, and while Make Way For Love draws on Williams own story, it captures the vagaries of relationships weve all been through in remarkably universal terms.Williams flipped the script recording-wise as well. After three weeks of pre-production with regular collaborator Ben Edwards, Williams and his backing band, The Yarra Benders, then decamped 7000 miles away, to Northern Californias Panoramic Studios, to record with producer Noah Georgeson, whos helmed baroque pop and alt-folk gems by Joanna Newsom, Adam Green, Little Joy and Devendra Banhart. I was a really big fan of those Cate Le Bon records he did [Mug Museum, Crab Day], Williams says. I was obsessed with those albums.The record also moves Williams several paces away from countrythe genre thats been affixed to him more than any in recent years. Make Way For Love, with forays into cinematic strings, reverb, rollicking guitar and at least one quiet piano ballad, is a more expansive affair. I think just having the time, he explains, and having just finished a cycle of playing these quite heavily country-leaning songs for the last three or four years, and playing them a lot, has definitely pushed me into exploring other things.
Download the Beatmatch app
Beatmatch is the social events platform for music, art, and culture. We empower people create events, discover experiences, and build community in real life. Join Beatmatch so you can do more together!
