In 2020, Stereogum threw a Zoom party for people who paid to support the site. That night had a lot of wonderful moments, and we're grateful to all the artists who contributed performances. My favorite of them came from the great DIY singer-songwriter Laura Stevenson, a new mom at the time. She played an acoustic song, singing directly to her baby. It was so cute and so pure, and I will never forget it. There were already many good reasons to love Laura Stevenson, but that's the one that sticks with me the most. So I'm delighted to report that Stevenson has a new album on the way.
Laura Stevenson's most recent full-length was the self-titled LP that she released in 2021. Since then, she has gone back to school for music therapy; she'll get hear masters this spring. Stevenson has also kept making music. She and her friend Jeff Rosenstock released Younger Still, their second EP of Neil Young covers, in 2022. Last year, she joined Rosenstock onstage at his Brooklyn residency, and guested on Katie Malco's song "Fatal Attraction." Today, we learn that Stevenson will release a new album called Late Great or Rosenstock's Really Records label this summer.
Stevenson recorded Late Great with veteran indie rock producer John Agnello at his converted church in Marlboro, New York. In a press release, Stevenson says that the album chronicles a number of big life changes, including a painful breakup: "It’s a document of loss for sure, but it also draws the map of this exciting precipice that I’m standing on. I am making my own life now. With the record, with everything, this is the first time I get to call all the shots."
The LP features contributions from many of her longtime collaborators, including Jeff Rosenstock on piano, guitar, saxophone, and arrangements, as well as Chris Farren on synth. Farren also edited the video for Stevenson's gorgeous new single "Honey," which is not a Mariah Carey cover. It's a heartbreak song that starts out as a plainspoken acoustic number and swells up to a devastating crescendo. Stevenson says, "I said in my mix notes [to Agnello] that I wanted it to sound like a thousand angels screaming and crying." Below, check out the "Honey" video and the Late Great tracklist.
TRACKLIST:
01 "#1"
02 "I Want To Remember It All"
03 "Honey"
04 "Not Us"
05 "I Couldn’t Sleep"
06 "Short And Sweet"
07 "Can I Fly For Free?"
08 "Domino"
09 "Instant Comfort"
10 "Middle Love"
11 "Late Great"
12 "#1 (2)"
Late Great is out 6/27 on Really Records.
