An album rollout is probably a great way to distract yourself from an impending divorce. With that, Michelle Branch is continuing to roll out her new record The Trouble with Fever — revealing some unlikely inspiration along the way.
In a winding new interview with Billboard, Branch has called the late David Berman the lyrical "patron saint" of her upcoming album. According to her, the Silver Jews and Purple Mountains songwriter's direct lyrics and vocal cadence informed much of her upcoming work.
"I found inspiration in a very unlikely source. David Berman, from the Silver Jews, has a book of his lyrics that's up in the studio," she said. "And he passed away in 2019 before I ever got to meet him or got to know him. But I attended his service, and heard all the amazing people there speaking about him — and I was crying so hard, even though I never met him."
She continued:
And for some reason, he felt like the patron saint of this record lyrically, because I would sit there as we were working, and just kind of thumb through that book. Just the cadence, the way he writes, was really inspiring to me — the way that he's just so direct. I feel like, especially in writing sessions with songwriters, you're always trying to be clever, and find a metaphor or whatever. And I was like, "What am I actually trying to say? I should just say it." I just feel like I learned so much by reading the lyrics, and I would often find myself, as I was writing, saying, "What would David do?"
While the interview mostly avoids Branch's dismissed misdemeanour and ongoing split from Black Keys guy Patrick Carney, he comes up multiple times throughout the interview as co-producer of The Trouble with Fever. In talking about writing the album's tracks by herself, Branch brought up her now ex-husband: "I really procrastinated on finishing the lyrics for some of them. Patrick would be like, 'Michelle, we're doing vocals tomorrow, have you finished those new lines?' And I'd be like, 'Uhhhh… I guess I have to do this!'"
The Trouble with Fever arrives September 16 via Audio Eagle/Nonesuch/Warner.
In a winding new interview with Billboard, Branch has called the late David Berman the lyrical "patron saint" of her upcoming album. According to her, the Silver Jews and Purple Mountains songwriter's direct lyrics and vocal cadence informed much of her upcoming work.
"I found inspiration in a very unlikely source. David Berman, from the Silver Jews, has a book of his lyrics that's up in the studio," she said. "And he passed away in 2019 before I ever got to meet him or got to know him. But I attended his service, and heard all the amazing people there speaking about him — and I was crying so hard, even though I never met him."
She continued:
And for some reason, he felt like the patron saint of this record lyrically, because I would sit there as we were working, and just kind of thumb through that book. Just the cadence, the way he writes, was really inspiring to me — the way that he's just so direct. I feel like, especially in writing sessions with songwriters, you're always trying to be clever, and find a metaphor or whatever. And I was like, "What am I actually trying to say? I should just say it." I just feel like I learned so much by reading the lyrics, and I would often find myself, as I was writing, saying, "What would David do?"
While the interview mostly avoids Branch's dismissed misdemeanour and ongoing split from Black Keys guy Patrick Carney, he comes up multiple times throughout the interview as co-producer of The Trouble with Fever. In talking about writing the album's tracks by herself, Branch brought up her now ex-husband: "I really procrastinated on finishing the lyrics for some of them. Patrick would be like, 'Michelle, we're doing vocals tomorrow, have you finished those new lines?' And I'd be like, 'Uhhhh… I guess I have to do this!'"
The Trouble with Fever arrives September 16 via Audio Eagle/Nonesuch/Warner.
