The Ian Fays release album ‘Viola’
Probably there is no greater thing than getting to say, someday, «And so I've learned to go to where we'd want to be», as twins Lizzie and Sara Fay aka THE IAN FAYS sing in Round & Round, one of the songs from their new album Viola coming on February 16th via WWNBB Collective, a record celebrating the band's 20th anniversary.
Inside this work resonates passionate music capable of an overwhelming sweetness. Listening to songs such as This One's For You, Mermaid or Round & Round brings to mind artists such as Cat Power, Eleanor Friedberger or Sharon Van Etten, but also the minute delicacy of Grandaddy, for example in the title-track or in Vanilla. A Song for Ian is angry, kicking up all its bitterness with a poetry reminiscent of The Decemberists. In the long list of all the places that provide the setting for these songs there are a hundred stories of sudden aimless journeys, restless nights, abandoned houses, made-up card games, endless skies at sunset, so many bars, loves we have lost but not forgotten, yet not a single moment of regret or nostalgia finds place. The result is an album that knows how to embrace you, make you run away from home and get drunk at the same time. Listening to Viola 20 years after their debut, one can really see where the Californian sisters have always wanted to go: from the fragile and caressing twee of their early days to the warm, contrast-filled sound of today, the Ian Fays have learned to mix indie pop melodies, indie rock outbursts, more folksy colors and a new, spontaneous maturity. It was here, in these 16 new songs, that the Ian Fays always wanted to be: «When we were teenagers we decided to name our band after our hometown heartthrob, Ian Fay. The band name kind of started as a joke, as our older sister, Lena, had struck up a friendship with Ian Fay, and (as is the obligation of any dutiful younger sisters) we simultaneously aimed to embarrass her and emulate her. The name stuck. We even adopted Ian’s last name as our own. For two decades now we have proudly identified as Lizzie Fay and Sara Fay. We forged our own musical friendship with Ian years later, he often came out to support us at our concerts. Sadly, Ian unexpectedly passed away in 2019. We were invited to perform a couple songs at his memorial service. It was a very sad and very significant experience for us. I think the experience sparked a lot of old feelings – feelings about a particular stretch of time that was over – life as a teenager in our hometown, life with our nuclear family – where we just longed to catch a glimpse of Ian Fay at the local bowling alley or on campus. Lizzie wrote Song for Ian Fay three days after Ian passed. It was the song that broke a six-year writer’s block streak. Fifteen other new songs followed it, and the result is our new album, “Viola”. The album name is a nod to our beloved Aunt Janet’s favorite color, purple. Purple has become a larger than life power source for the Fays – allowing us to stay connected to the people we love, no matter where they are».
CREDITS
The album was recorded during 2023 at Samuele "Jack" Palazzi's home studio, Foghorn Sounds in El Granada, California. Recording sessions almost always involved drinking pisco sours, wearing purple dresses, and beaming with joy to be back in the studio.
Songs by Sara May Hawkinson and Elizabeth June Schoelen (The Ian Fays).
Arranged, produced, recorded and mixed by Samuele "Jack" Palazzi at Foghorn Sounds, California.
Additional guitars by Alessandro Paderno.
Additional keys by Julia Cupp.
Cello by Daniel Moskovits.
Sax by Ruben Lopez.
Art by Christina Villagomez.
Artwork by Christina Neston.
