Tracy Bonham

Sadie Dupuis & Tracy Bonham team up on new version of "The Real" (listen)

Tracy Bonham

Tracy Bonham revisited her 1996 alt-rock debut The Burdens of Being Upright and rebuilt those songs from scratch to create “radically different versions” which will appear on her upcoming album, Modern Burdens, due via Schoolkids Records this Wednesday, October 11 (which is the International Day of the Girl). The new album was produced by John Wlaysewski, and it features guest vocals by several female artists chosen by Tracy, including artists from her generation and younger ones. The guests include Tanya Donelly (Throwing Muses, Belly, The Breeders), Kathryn Calder (The New Pornographers), Sadie Dupuis (Speedy Ortiz), Kay Hanley (Letters To Cleo), Nicole Atkins, Rachael Yamagata, and Angie Hart.

We’re premiering the new version of “The Real,” which has vocals by Sadie Dupuis. That’s a great pairing, especially for any Speedy Ortiz fans who haven’t yet been exposed to Tracy’s two-decades-old debut. (Similarities between Sadie’s voice and Tracy’s have been noted in the past, and in fact Sadie herself once said that it was those very comparisons that led her to Tracy’s music.) The new version is noticeably different from the original, and Sadie sounds great on it. In place of the post-grunge angst is a mix of danceable beats and fuzz guitars that share a lot of common ground with Sadie’s Sad13 project. There’s just a little added psychedelia this time too, and the melodies of the “aaaaaah”s and the “only the real world is so unreal” hook remain as addictive as ever. Listen to the new version below.

You can pre-order the album and listen to three more tracks, including the new version of “Sharks Can’t Sleep” with Tanya Donelly, HERE.

Tracy also has four shows coming up, all in New York. She plays Hudson, NY’s Club Helsinki (10/11) the day the album comes out, which is one of Wesley Stace‘s Cabinet of Wonders shows and also includes Charles Bock, Juliana Hatfield, Dave Hill, Daniel Mendelsohn, Stephin Merritt and Suzzy Roche (tickets). After that, she plays a release show at NYC’s Cutting Room on 10/17 with acclaimed writer, comedian and The Daily Show co-creator Lizz Winstead (tickets); a Woodstock Sessions Benefit with Jesse Malin, Anthony D’Amato and Don DiLego + Bree Sharp at Saugerties’ Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary on 10/21 (tickets); and NYC’s Rockwood Music Hall on 11/5, which is part of Blake Morgan‘s residency at the venue (tickets).

Modern Burdens Tracklist
1. Mother Mother
2. Navy Bean
3. Tell It to the Sky (ft. Nicole Atkins)
4. Kisses (ft. Rachael Yamagata)
5. Brain Crack (ft. Kathryn Calder)
6. The One
7. One Hit Wonder
8. Sharks Can’t Sleep (ft. Tanya Donelly)
9. Bulldog
10. Every Breath (ft. Kay Hanley)
11. 30 Seconds (ft. Angie Hart)
12. The Real (ft. Sadie Dupuis)
13. Free