Swing Out Sister | Beautiful Mess
Shanachie Entertainment | May 19, 2009 | US TOUR June 3 - 8
WWW | MYSPACE | 300DPI ALBUM COVER | 300DPI PRESS PHOTO | PRESS
2009 TOUR VIDEOS | CLASSIC VIDEOS: BREAKOUT | AM I THE SAME GIRL
Swing Out Sister US Tour
June 3 | San Francisco | Bimbo’s | 8:00pm
June 4 | Los Angeles | The El Rey Theater | 8:00pm
June 6 | Washington, DC/Columbia, MD
Capital Jazz Fest @ Merriweather Post Pavilion | 7:00
June 7 | Philadelphia | Café Live | TBC
June 8 | New York City | BB King’s | 8:00pm | Afterparty at Bamboo 52 (see invite)
"Britain's Corinne Drewery and Andy Connell, collectively known as Swing Out Sister, continue to make gorgeously lush and rhythmically jazzy albums whether stateside audiences care or not." READ. - Dallas Morning News
“Swing Out Sister are still crafting the kind of songs you find yourself dreaming a whole day away by in cinemascope- songs of new love, lost love and love dances.” – Urban Network
“Swing Out Sister is still cranking out smartly produced and thoroughly evocative tunes that do justice to the duo’s myriad, if almost mainstream, pop influences – Bacharach/Hal David, the 5th Dimension, the Carpenters and primetime Motown.” – The Washington Post
“…jazzy, well-crafted songs brimming with classic ‘60s soul sensibilities and arrangements…charming and refreshing.” – URB Magazine
“Swing Out Sister has been making soul-blessed, jazz tinged, Latin swirled, Burt Bacharach-influenced pop music for nearly 20 years now…Drewery and Connell have maintained their wondrously loungey ‘60s-licious stance.” – Billboard Magazine
Swing Out Sister
Swing Out Sister is back, just in time to deliver, “Beautiful Mess,” the perfect, hazy, lazy, beachy, daydreamy summer album. Corrine and Andy’s fizzy jazz-pop-retro-fusion cocktail is just as cool now as it was when we first sipped “Breakout,” almost twenty years ago. Grab a glass!
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There are few artists in the pop music landscape who manage to stand the test of time while remaining completely unique and relevant. Swing Out Sister has managed to do this over their remarkable 20-plus year career and as a result has built a devoted international fan base. On May 19, 2009, Shanachie Entertainment will release Swing Out Sister’s highly anticipated ninth studio album, Beautiful Mess, showcasing the band’s ability to create fresh cinematic sound-scapes with their sophisticated, intimate and jazz/Latin tinged pop and surprise-filled arrangements that pay homage to the great soul tradition.
Fronted by the stunning vocalist and fashionista Corinne Drewery and keyboardist Andy Connell, Swing Out Sister celebrates the eclectic cultural mix of the UK’s constantly changing music scene on Beautiful Mess. With a clever mix of jazz fusion, hip hop hooks, sixties pop, 70’s R&B/funk and free flowing Latin groves, Swing Out Sister concocts the ultimate Beautiful Mess over a twelve track recording that gives a glimpse into the minds of two creative geniuses who never tire of finding new ways to make us dream through their music.
Swing Out Sister was formed in 1985 in Manchester, England by keyboardist Andy Connell and drummer Martin Jackson, former members of the indie bands A Certain Ratio and Magazine. They were joined by singer Corinne Drewery, who had no prior professional experience. Luckily her vocal sound and phrasing was a perfect match for Swing Out Sister's vision, as evidenced on their first single, "Blue Mood," and their breakthrough follow-up, "Breakout," which scored a Top Ten hit in the UK as well as in the U.S. In 1988, Swing Out Sister was nominated for two Grammy Awards including ‘Best New Artist’ and ‘Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Group or Duo’ for “Breakout.”
Corinne’s sophisticated sense of style and model good looks prompted Glamour Magazine to say, “Her crème fraiche voice and Breakfast At Tiffany's clothes may be the chicest things to MTV since Sade's braid.” Swing Out Sister’s hits followed with "Surrender" and "Twilight World," all taken from the album It's Better To Travel -which the band certainly did-earning them worldwide recognition. Kaleidoscope World, their 1989 album, explicitly declared their debt to orchestrated pop-soul by employing the arrangement skills of legendary Jim Webb, whose work with The Fifth Dimension had greatly influenced the band. By 1992, Swing Out Sister, now down to Drewery and Connell, hit the pop charts in the U.S. and UK with their cover of Barbara Acklin's "Am I The Same Girl?," the vocal version of Young-Holt Unlimited's "Soulful Strut."
After several tours, the group enjoyed success in many countries, including Japan, where in 1997 they received a Grand Prix award (Japanese equivalent to a Grammy) for best international artists for their song "Now You're Not Here," featured on the album Shapes and Patterns. Throughout the 1990s, Swing Out Sister released a series of splendid albums that sustained their large, devoted following.
Shanachie released Swing Out Sister’s critically acclaimed recordings Where Our Love Grows (2004) and Live (2005). Now with the release of Beautiful Mess, Swing Out Sister confirms that they are here to stay and that their creative powers are as vital as ever as they continue to bring irresistible melodies, passion, originality and real music to serious music fans.
Beautiful Mess Track Listing | Listen to snippets | Listen on MySpace
1. Something Every Day
2. Time Tracks You Down
3. Butterfly
4. My State of Mind
5. I'd Be Happy
6. Butterfly Lullaby
7. Secret Love (You're Invisible)
8. All I Say, All I Do
9. Out There
10. Beautiful Mess
11. Something Every Day [Little Wizard Mix]
12. Butterfly [Little Wizard Mix]
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US-only Bonus Tracks:
13. Something Every Day [Late NIght Studio Take]
14. Breakout [Late Night Studio Take]
PRESS
Ambiente (May, feature)
Ambiente (July, Q&A)
Between The Lines (Michigan)
Blabbeando.com (Gay Latino Blog)
Echo Magazine (Phoenix)
EdgeUnitedStates.com (18 city portals)
Gay.com
Gay & Lesbian Times (San Diego)
GayListDaily.com (+ e-newsletter)
GayWired.com
JoeMyGod (top gay blog, Swag Tuesday pick)
Metroline (New England)
Out Front Colorado
OutSmart (Houston, Pride issue)
Planetout.com
PM (Long Island)
ProjectQAtlanta.com
Pride & Equality Magazine (New Mexico/US)
Quest (Wisconsin, COVER)
Windy City Times (Chicago)