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Andy Shaufs latest album, Norm, out now on ANTI-, and presents its lead single/video, Wasted On You. In conjunction, Shauf announces a 2023 Norm Tourincluding some of his biggest shows to-date (tickets are on sale this Friday). Hailed as a gifted storyteller (NPR Music) for 2016s The Party and 2020s The Neon Skyline, Shauf writes albums that unfold like short fiction, full of colorful characters, fine details and a rich emotional depth. With Norm, however, Shauf has slyly deconstructed and reshaped the style for which hes been celebrated, elevating his songwriting with intricate layers and perspectives, challenging himself to find a new direction. Under the guise of an intoxicating collection of jazz-inflected romantic ballads, his storytelling has become decidedly more oblique, hinting at ominous situations and dark motivations.Shauf had planned to be touring around The Neon Skyline but, like many of us in the early days of the pandemic, he spent a lot of time alone instead. He sequestered himself in his garage studio, self-producing and playing every instrument on Norm, a collection of more conventional songs written predominantly on guitar, piano and synths. The latter was essential to creating the more spacious and tactile sounds he sought. Shaufs goals were uncomplicated: create something melody-driven rather than chord-driven, and make it modern. Shauf recruited Neal Pogue (Tyler, the Creator, Janelle Monae, Outkast), a prodigious shaper of genre-and-time-defying tracks, to mix the album, further building on the gently levitating, synth-laden atmospherics.During this period, he was captivated by David Lynchs Mulholland Drive, which seemed to validate Shaufs instinct to mix perspectives and tinker with shadowy narratives. He even rewrote all of the albums original lyrics, recreating the story, and enlisting Nicholas Olson as a story editor it was only after writing the title track that Shauf decided to build a narrative around the character Norm. The character of Norm is introduced in a really nice way, Shauf says of the pleasant songs that precede the albums centerpiece. But the closer you pay attention to the record, the more youre going to realize that its sinister.Wasted On You doubles as Norms lead single and opening track, a lilting pop introduction with rWhat happens when they die? Shauf begins the record by asking. The questions continue, and his final query Was all my love wasted on you? hangs in the air, with subtle percussion, tender guitar, and synths escorting the song out. The accompanying video, directed by V Haddad and written by Shauf, is a playful depiction of God (played by Lauren Servideo) and Jesus, once again presenting the duality in Shaufs music.
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