Shannon Stephens - The Breadwinner

If you’re looking for musical credentials, Shannon Stephens has ‘em- former bandmate of Sufjan Stevens in Marzuki , songs covered on critically acclaimed Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy albums, and a grammy-nominated composer on hand to add some cello (Phil Peterson, ally of Mastodon and Nada Surf). The first track of Stephen’s second album, following her 2000 debut, More To Speak Of is a slow guitar waltz, warm vocals hinting at an American Emiliana Torrini. In The Summer In The Heat’s delicate guitar loop and waterfalls of strings compliment her understated, warm, reverberating voice.

Hard Times Are Coming features a chicken on loop in its intro but also showcases the impact motherhood has had on lyrical content and some jazzy horns skipping over the top. Stephens seems to address ordinary life, writing on that which affects every person and every place, to honest affect. Interestingly instrumented, even utilising an oboe on The One Who Sees me, The Breadwinner is deliciously unpretentious. Although title track Song of the Breadwinner doesn’t represent the best of the album by the time it rolls around and the low-key nature could be tiresome for some, the quality of Stephens’ ability to write a genuinely heartfelt line should matter more.