Keep Your Courage
Keep Your Courage is the eighth studio album by American singer-songwriter Natalie Merchant, released on April 14, 2023, by Nonesuch Records. It is her first full-length studio album since 2014's Natalie Merchant and Merchant also promoted the release with a tour, accompanied on some dates by a symphony orchestra. The album has received positive reviews, but faced criticism for its tone and length.
| Keep Your Courage | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | April 14, 2023 | |||
| Recorded | 2019–2022 | |||
| Studio | Guilford Sound, Guilford, Vermont, United States | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 54:38 | |||
| Language | English | |||
| Label | Nonesuch | |||
| Producer | Natalie Merchant | |||
| Natalie Merchant chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Keep Your Courage | ||||
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Composition and recording edit
After several years of focusing on being a single mother, Merchant returned to songwriting as an emotional outlet, composing songs for Keep Your Courage beginning in late 2020 or early 2021.[2] These represented the first songs that Merchant had written in six years.[3] The album is a song cycle built around the concept of having a courageous heart,[4] and is a concept album composed entirely of love songs, which Merchant was inspired to write after having surgery for ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament[5] as well as an anaplasmosis infection that led to sepsis[6] and experiencing healing from love and care by others.[7][8] Lyrics discuss feelings of isolation that she had during the COVID-19 pandemic[9] and the album also explores political themes and feminism[10] and womanhood.[11] Many of the songs are written about or to fictional or mythological characters, which is a songwriting tool that Merchant uses to approach contemporary issues.[8][12] She also read mythology during the pandemic, as it felt like a mythological event to her.[13]
In-studio recordings only featured up to five persons at a time due to COVID restrictions, so the resulting music was made with layering recordings.[2] The cover is a photograph of a statue of Joan of Arc that Merchant found many years prior and kept.[14]
Release and promotion edit
“I was raising my daughter, and I’m a single mom... My days are so full that it never occurred to me that I should sit down and write a song. I was just focused on so many other things. It’s an indulgence to sit down with the piano and sing. It got to the point where I forgot that I was a songwriter, or that I could write songs.”
—Merchant on her extended absence from performing, recording, and songwriting, leading up to Keep Your Courage and its subsequent tour[15]
Two singles preceded the album's release: "Come On, Aphrodite" on February 15, 2023, and "Tower of Babel" on March 30, 2023.[16][17] Merchant participated in a promotion with Uncut to answer fans' questions[18] that ran in the June 2023 issue.[13] She also hosted a set on WDST, Radio Woodstock on April 15.[19] On April 18, 2023, Merchant released a third single off of the album, "Big Girls".[20]
Merchant withheld the release for almost a year in order to safely tour around the COVID-19 pandemic.[21] Beginning in May 2022, Merchant took the music from this album and prepared it for an orchestral arrangement.[22] The promotional tour is her first long-term tour in almost a decade[23] and it finds Merchant accompanied by a string quartet on all dates.[22] Merchant also performed on Good Morning America on June 20.[24]
In the table below, entries with an asterism (⁂) feature an orchestra.
| Date | City | Country | Venue | Accompaniment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 14, 2023 | Poughkeepsie, New York | United States of America | Bardavon 1869 Opera House | — |
| April 15, 2023 | — | |||
| April 18, 2023 | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | Byham Theater | — | |
| April 19, 2023 | Charlottesville, Virginia | Paramount Theater | — | |
| April 21, 2023 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Kimmel Cultural Campus | — | |
| April 22, 2023 | Hershey, Pennsylvania | Hershey Theatre | — | |
| April 24, 2023 | Greenville, South Carolina | Peace Center Concert Hall | — | |
| April 26, 2023 | Clearwater, Florida | Ruth Eckerd Hall | — | |
| April 27, 2023⁂ | Fort Lauderdale, Florida | Au-Rene Theater at Broward Center for the Performing Arts | South Florida Symphony Orchestra[25] | |
| April 28, 2023 | St. Augustine, Florida | St. Augustine Amphitheatre | — | |
| April 30, 2023⁂ | Atlanta, Georgia | Atlanta Symphony Hall | Atlanta Symphony Orchestra[2] | |
| May 9, 2023 | Portland, Maine | Merrill Auditorium | — | |
| May 10, 2023 | Boston, Massachusetts | Emerson Colonial Theatre | — | |
| May 11, 2023 | — | |||
| May 13, 2023 | Cleveland, Ohio | KeyBank State Theatre | — | |
| May 14, 2023 | Cincinnati, Ohio | Taft Theatre | — | |
| May 16, 2023 | Carmel, Indiana | The Palladium at the Center for the Performing Arts | — | |
| May 17, 2023 | Ann Arbor, Michigan | Michigan Theater | — | |
| May 19, 2023 | Chicago, Illinois | The Chicago Theatre | — | |
| May 20, 2023 | Milwaukee, Wisconsin | Pabst Theater | — | |
| June 2, 2023⁂ | New York City, New York | Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center | The Knights[26] | |
| June 3, 2023⁂ | The Knights[26] | |||
| June 22, 2023⁂ | St. Louis, Missouri | Stifel Theatre | St. Louis Symphony Orchestra | |
| June 25, 2023⁂ | Newark, New Jersey | NJPAC | Orchestra of St. Luke's[27] | |
| June 28, 2023⁂ | Providence, Rhode Island | Veterans Memorial Auditorium | Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra[28] | |
| June 30, 2023⁂ | Washington, D. C. | John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts | National Symphony Orchestra[2] | |
| July 1, 2023⁂ | National Symphony Orchestra[2] | |||
| July 8, 2023⁂ | Chautauqua, New York | Chautauqua Institution Amphitheater | Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra[29] | |
| September 20, 2023 | Spokane, Washington | Martin Woldson Theater at The Fox | — | |
| September 22, 2023 | Woodinville, Washington | Chateau Ste. Michelle Winery | — | |
| September 23, 2023 | Portland, Oregon | Keller Auditorium | — | |
| September 26, 2023 | San Francisco, California | The Masonic | — | |
| September 27, 2023 | Saratoga, California | The Mountain Winery | — | |
| September 29, 2023 | San Diego, California | Humphrey's Concerts by the Bay | — | |
| September 30, 2023 | Los Angeles, California | Walt Disney Concert Hall | — | |
| October 31, 2023 | Berlin | Germany | Stage Theater des Westens | — |
| November 2, 2023 | London, England | United Kingdom | London Palladium | — |
| November 3, 2023 | — | |||
| November 5, 2023 | Glasgow, Scotland | Glasgow Royal Concert Hall | — | |
| November 6, 2023 | Manchester, England | O2 Apollo Manchester | — | |
| November 8, 2023[9] | Dublin | Ireland | 3Olympia | — |
| November 11, 2023 | Bath, England | United Kingdom | The Forum | — |
| November 13, 2023 | Amsterdam | The Netherlands | Carré Theatre | — |
| November 14, 2023 | Brussels | Belgium | Cirque Royal | — |
Reception edit
Keep Your Courage received positive reviews from critics noted at review aggregator Metacritic. It has a weighted average score of 78 out of 100, based on seven reviews.[30] In No Depression, Jim Shahen characterizes this release as "full of ambitious musical passages, thoughtful lyrics, and fantastic vocal performances centered on the need for love and meaningful human connection".[1] PopMatters' Steve Horowitz rated Keep Your Courage a seven out of 10, noting an "alchemy" between the musicians and styles, but critiquing that Merchant "would be better if Merchant lightened up a bit... She would be more honest if she were funnier, and this would make her morals easier to digest."[7] Tom Dunne of The Irish Examiner listed this as one of his six favorite albums of the year so far in mid-April 2023.[31] John Murphy of musicOMH gave the album three out of five stars, praising individual tracks, but noting that "there are a couple of tracks that veer towards the forgettable, and the overall downbeat tempo of the album as a whole may test the patience of some listeners".[32] In The Daily Telegraph, Neil McCormick rated this album four out of five stars, praising "the cohesive, eternal quality of Merchant's ability to weave romantic, folk-rock ballads rich with organ, brass, and tidal waves of strings all anchored to simple piano melodies".[33] Editors at AllMusic Guide scored this release four out of five stars, with critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine praising the music for "celebrat[ing] compassion, empathy, and inspiration" while being "stately and sober", with "Merchant's inherently warm, empathetic voice keep[ing] the album from seeming still in its quiet moments".[34] Graham Reid of The New Zealand Herald included this in his favorite albums of 2023.[35] Editors at AllMusic included this among their favorite singer-songwriter music albums of 2023.[36]
Track listing edit
All songs written by Natalie Merchant, except where noted
- "Big Girls" – 4:56
- "Come On, Aphrodite" – 5:21
- "Sister Tilly" – 7:42
- "Narcissus" – 6:02
- "Hunting the Wren" (Ian Lynch) – 5:47
- "Guardian Angel" – 5:56
- "Eye of the Storm" – 5:30
- "Tower of Babel" – 2:28
- "Song of Himself" – 4:51
- "The Feast of Saint Valentine" – 6:06
Vinyl edition bonus tracks
- "Spring & Fall: To a Young Child" – 3:03 (from Leave Your Sleep, 2010)
- "Butterfly" – 5:39 (from Butterfly, 2017)
- "Giving Up Everything" – 4:20 (from Natalie Merchant, 2014)
- "Frozen Charlotte" – 5:58 (from Butterfly, 2017)
Personnel edit
- Natalie Merchant – vocals, production, liner notes, design
- Kinan Azmeh – clarinet
- Stephen Barber – conducting
- Andrea Camuto – portrait photography
- Steve Davis – trombone
- Ryan Freeland – mixing at Stampede Origin, Culver City, California, United States
- Megan Gould – conducting
- Matt Hall – assistant engineering
- Colin Jacobsen – conducting
- Gabriel Kahane – conducting
- Abena Koomson-Davis – vocals on "Big Girls" and "Come On, Aphrodite"
- Lúnasa
- Ed Boyd – guitar
- Kevin Crawford – flutes, whistles
- Patrick Doocey – guitar
- Colin Farrell – fiddle, whistles
- Trevor Hutchinson – double bass
- Seán Smyth – fiddle, whistles
- Cillian Vallely – Uilleann pipes, whistles
- Allison Miller – drums and percussion
- Kim Rosen – mastering at Knack Mastering, Ringwood, New Jersey, United States
- Anabel Sinn – design
- Dave Snyder – engineering
Chart performance edit
Keep Your Courage debuted on the mid-week UK Albums Chart at 14,[37] but ended up placing 58 when the chart was published.
| Chart | Peak | Duration (weeks) |
|---|---|---|
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[38] | 73 | 2 |
| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[39] | 26 | 1 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[40] | 32 | 1 |
| Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)[41] | 7 | 2 |
| Scottish Albums (OCC)[42] | 5 | 2 |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[43] | 45 | 1 |
| UK Albums (OCC)[44] | 58 | 1[45] |
See also edit
References edit
- ^ a b Shahen, Jim (April 12, 2023). "Natalie Merchant Lays Out a Feast on 'Keep Your Courage'". No Depression. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
- ^ a b c d e Baltin, Steve (May 4, 2023). "Q&A: Natalie Merchant On Her New Music And Tour And the Next Wave Of Her Career". Forbes. Retrieved May 4, 2023.
- ^ Dunne, Tom (April 21, 2023). "Tom Dunne: Learning at the feet of the great Ms Natalie Merchant". The Irish Examiner. Retrieved April 21, 2023.
- ^ Sacks, Mike (April 2, 2023). "Natalie Merchant's Lost American Songs". The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X. OCLC 320541675. Retrieved April 3, 2023.
- ^ Finan, Eileen (September 23, 2023). "Why Natalie Merchant Felt 'Grateful' After Losing Her Voice — And How Singing Is 'Better Than Ever'". Lifestyle > Health. People. Retrieved September 26, 2023.
- ^ Pedder, Alan (April 21, 2023). "Natalie Merchant: "When I say keep your courage, I'm talking to myself as much as anyone"". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved April 22, 2023.
- ^ a b Horowitz, Steve (April 11, 2023). "Natalie Merchant: Keep Your Courage (Album Review)". PopMatters. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
- ^ a b Kennedy, Mark (April 11, 2023). "Natalie Merchant emerges from darkness with nothing but love". Associated Press. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
- ^ a b Clayton-Lea, Tony (April 15, 2023). "Natalie Merchant: 'Men need to empathise because I feel we're losing the fight'". The Irish Times. Retrieved April 15, 2023.
- ^ Honigmann, David (April 12, 2023). "Singer Natalie Merchant: 'It was important to assert my identity. Because I'd lost it'". Financial Times. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
- ^ Benitez-Eves, Tina (August 17, 2023). "Natalie Merchant Keeping Her Courage". American Songwriter. ISSN 0896-8993. OCLC 17342741. Retrieved August 17, 2023.
- ^ Rascoe, Ayesha (April 9, 2023). "Natalie Merchant on album 'Keep Your Courage'". Weekend Edition. NPR. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
- ^ a b Richards, Sam (June 2023). "An Audience With... Natalie Merchant". Uncut. pp. 14–16. ISSN 1368-0722.
- ^ Lanaham, Tom (April 13, 2023). "Q&A with Natalie Merchant: On Her Old Collections and Her New One, Keep Your Courage". Paste. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
- ^ Benitez-Eves, Tina (May 30, 2023). "The Writer's Block: Natalie Merchant on Songwriting and Where She Gets Inspiration". American Songwriter. ISSN 0896-8993. OCLC 17342741. Retrieved May 30, 2023.
- ^ "Natalie Merchant Unveils "Come On, Aphrodite," First Single From Upcoming Album, 'Keep Your Courage'". Nonesuch Records. February 15, 2023. Retrieved February 16, 2023.
- ^ Major, Michael (March 30, 2023). "Natalie Merchant Debuts New Single 'Tower of Babel'". Broadway World. Retrieved April 3, 2023.
- ^ Richard, Sam (March 6, 2023). "Send us your questions for Natalie Merchant!". Uncut. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
- ^ Munoz, Montana (April 14, 2023). "Natalie Merchant To Host Radio Woodstock "Saturday Night Takeover" April 15th". NYS Music. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
- ^ "Watch: Natalie Merchant Shares Video for "Big Girls," From Her New Album, 'Keep Your Courage'". Nonesuch Records. Retrieved April 17, 2023.
- ^ Stewart, Alison (March 30, 2023). "Listen: Natalie Merchant on WNYC's 'All of It with Alison Stewart'". All of It. WNYC. Retrieved March 31, 2023 – via Nonesuch Records.
- ^ a b Zaleski, Annie (April 16, 2023). "Natalie Merchant on overcoming pain, roadblocks to produce the "best-sounding record I've ever made"". Salon. OCLC 43916723. Retrieved April 16, 2023.
- ^ Manzoor, Safraz (April 18, 2023). "'It made me wish I had made more records': Natalie Merchant on returning to music after losing her voice". The Guardian. Retrieved April 18, 2023.
- ^ "Natalie Merchant performs 'Come On, Aphrodite' on 'GMA'". Good Morning America. ABC News. June 20, 2023. Retrieved June 21, 2023.
- ^ . Broward Center for the Performing Arts. Archived from the original on March 20, 2023. Retrieved May 4, 2023.
- ^ a b "An Evening with Natalie Merchant with The Knights: Keep Your Courage Tour". Lincoln Center. Retrieved May 4, 2023.
- ^ "An Evening with Natalie Merchant: Keep Your Courage Tour". NJPAC. Retrieved May 4, 2023.
- ^ "AT THE VETS: An Evening with Natalie Merchant: Keep Your Courage Tour". Providence Performing Arts Center. Retrieved May 4, 2023.
- ^ "Natalie Merchant with the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra". Chautauqua Institution. Retrieved May 4, 2023.
- ^ "Keep Your Courage by Natalie Merchant". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved April 15, 2023.
- ^ Dunne, Tom (April 13, 2023). "Tom Dunne: My six favourite albums of the year so far". The Irish Examiner. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
- ^ Murphy, John (April 14, 2023). "Natalie Merchant – Keep Your Courage". musicOMH. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
- ^ McCormick, Neil (April 14, 2023). "Metallica are on mighty form, Natalie Merchant wants to unite the world – the week's best albums". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
- ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Natalie Merchant – Keep Your Courage". AllMusic. Retrieved May 31, 2023.
- ^ Reid, Graham (December 17, 2023). "Bigger than the Beatles: Graham Reid's best albums of 2023". The Listener / Entertainment. New Zealand Herald. ISSN 1170-0777. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
- ^ "Favorite Singer-Songwriter Albums". AllMusic. RhythmOne. n.d. Retrieved December 26, 2023.
- ^ Brandle, Lars (April 18, 2023). "Metallica Heading to U.K. Chart Summit With '72 Seasons'". Billboard. Retrieved April 18, 2023.
- ^ "Ultratop.be – Natalie Merchant – Keep Your Courage" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 25, 2023.
- ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Natalie Merchant – Keep Your Courage" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 21, 2023.
- ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Natalie Merchant – Keep Your Courage" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved April 21, 2023.
- ^ "Album Top 40 slágerlista – 2023. 16. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved April 27, 2023.
- ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 25, 2023.
- ^ "Swisscharts.com – Natalie Merchant – Keep Your Courage". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 23, 2023.
- ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 21, 2023.
- ^ "Keep Your Courage". Official Charts. Retrieved May 4, 2023.
External links edit
- Official website
- Press release from Nonesuch
- Keep Your Courage at Discogs (list of releases)
- Keep Your Courage at MusicBrainz (list of releases)
- Photo gallery of the Clearwater performance from Creative Loafing
- A set by Merchant for World Cafe
- A promotional set for WTTS-FM
- Merchant on Songcraft