Rachael Yamagata - Elephants...Teeth Sinking Into Heart

Rachael Yamagata - Elephants

Today marks the release of Rachael Yamagata's Elephants...Teeth Sinking Into Heart, the follow-up to her full-length debut, Happenstance. It was originally slated for a summer 2007 release, but due to changes at her original label, RCA, and switching managers, it was inevitably delayed. It is available now on Warner Bros. Records from various digital and retail stores.

The theme of Elephants...Teeth Sinking Into Heart seems to be heartbreak and trying to overcome it.  The album is split into two parts; the songs on Elephants are darker and more intimate while the tracks on Teeth Sinking Into Heart are grittier and more cynical.

 

Rachael Yamagata - Duet

Rachael Yamagata

The title track for Elephants ends with a gripping line that sets up the theme of the album; "So for those of you falling in love, keep it kind, keep it good, keep it right. Throw yourself in the midst of danger, but keep one eye open at night." The song was written while running down a mountain in Woodstock without a pen or paper; she kept repeating the lyrics so she wouldn't forget them. "Sunday Afternoon" is a beautifully orchestrated nine-minute piece about making a difficult decision and accepting that both people involved had a part in the collapse of the relationship; but not to dwell on it forever. It's followed by a sorrowful sounding "Elephants Instrumental" and "Duet", a stripped-down acoustic tune featuring singer-songwriter Ray Lamontagne about two people thinking of each other at the same time but are unfortunately in different places. She felt she was over the relationship, but her emotions got the best of her. On "Over and Over", she confesses, "I really thought I was okay. I really thought I was just fine, but when I woke this time, there was nothing to take me back to sleep, to take you off my mind".

 

Rachael Yamagata - Sidedish Friend

Whereas Elephants was more intimate, Teeth Sinking Into Heart seems to be her cynical side. "Sidedish Friend" opens this part of the album with the lyrics "I don't want you hanging out with me, but I want you when I call. We can stay together separately and we won't be lonely at at all" and "I don't want to get too close to you and I don't want you too close to me". It's about being someone's part-time lover. In "Faster", she sings, "You're like an old tattoo and I know you'll fade in time ... I'm not the one for you, there's just one thing left to do. Why don't you let me be." With this part of the album, she's clearly ready to move on.

From October 9 through November 18, Yamagata will be on tour for The Hotel Café Tour 2008. Joining her will be some amazing up-and-coming female singer-songwriters, some of which have been featured on W♥M: Ingrid Michaelson, Meiko, Priscilla Ahn, Kate Havnevik, Thao Nguyen, Brooke Fraser, Samantha Crain, Alice Russell, Jaymay, Erin McCarley, Katie Herzig, Jenny Owen Youngs, Lenka, Emily Wells, Anya Marina, Holly Conlan, and Catherine Feeny.

Links: Official Website | MySpace | Youtube | The Hotel Cafe Tour

Posted by Jason