If it seems like we've been waiting forever for the new Sarah Jaffe release, it's because we kind of have been. Or, at least, we've sure been reporting on it for a while -- dating back to July 2010, when Jaffe told us that the new disc was likely going to be coming out in the fall of that year. It wasn't, as you've no doubt realized by now.
But, this time, for sure, we know for a fact when the album -- a combined EP and DVD release featuring demos, covers and live footage of Jaffe's Wyly Theater performance from back in February -- will be coming out on September 27. We know this because we have our promotional copy of the release, called The Way Sound Leaves a Room, right here next to our keyboard as we type this.
It's an interesting release, for sure -- namely due to the fact that there's very little fully focused new material to be found here. There's an alternate, piano-heavy take on "Clementine" (which we've heard) and home demo recordings of five new tracks, all of which Jaffe has been performing in her live sets for almost a year, the most notable among them being the fiery "A Sucker for Your Marketing" and "All That Time," which finds Jaffe recycling and expanding upon a lyric and some riffs from "Clementine."
More eyebrow-raising than these already familiar efforts, though, are the cover songs that Jaffe uses to open the album. Interestingly enough, neither of the two included covers are the singer-songwriters' endearing take on Robyn's "Hang With Me." Instead, she uses the disc to turn Cold War Kids' lilting "Louder Than Ever" into a somber jaunt and cleverly flip Drake & The-Dream's sexy "Shut It Down" on its head. That latter track, which opens the disc, is pretty amazing, if only because it's awesome to hear Jaffe sing "Put those fucking heels on and work it girl."
But as for the rest of the disc being marked as demo recordings? Kirtland Records' Tami Thomsen says they're marked that way because that's specifically what they are. For now.
"The ones noted as such were done at home, by herself, on GarageBand," Thomsen says in an email sent DC9's way yesterday afternoon.
"We start recording with [Dallas-based producer] John Congelton this week -- and yes, I expect some, if not all, to be on the next full-length as fully flushed out studio versions."
Speaking of Kirtland Records: They put a nice video promo together for the new release, too. Give it a watch -- and hear some snippets of Jaffe singing "Shut it Down" -- in the embed below.
