When Pieta Brown invited Amos Lee to join her on “Drinkin’ Side,” loneliness became a shared experience.
“Amos and I became friends slowly through music over the years,” says the Iowa-raised Brown about her connection to her Philadelphia-based duet partner. “I think relating to each other as songwriters in a kind of unspoken, natural way slowly created a safety zone to become real friends. Artistic safety zones—and safe spaces in general—are extra important for all humans right now.”
That mutual trust feeds into the latest single from Brown’s new album, Dreamin’ Of (Righteous Babe). “To sing ‘Drinkin’ Side’ as a duet with Amos was freeing,” says Brown. “The isolation of the ‘river of tears’ feeling became a place of connection and understanding inside the song. It was healing—and freeing. And I really love the way Amos sings.”
Dreamin’ Of was a much-needed release valve for a set of songs that had accumulated over several years as other projects occupied Brown’s attention, including co-producing Iris DeMent’s 2023 LP, Workin’ On A World. Then Dreamin’ Of arrived in a sudden rush, and Brown began to hear something cohesive. She headed north from Iowa City to Minnesota to work with a pair of Bon Iver associates, multi-instrumentalist/producer Mike Lewis and drummer S. (Sean) Carey.
“I’d start playing a song, and within just a few minutes, it was easy to feel if it was resonating with Mike and Sean,” says Brown of the LP’s organic foundation, which is enhanced by contributions from Lee, Jeremy Ylvisaker, Bo Ramsey, Romain Collin and others. “(Engineer) Brett Bullion set up an experimental remote rig in Mike’s basement, and we played to each other in the smallness of the room. That experimental liftoff set the tone for following the songs and letting them land as we recorded them.”
“Drinkin’ Side” now has a visual counterpart in the form of a new animated video. “I love the way Socially Awkward depicted the characters and the layered emotions of the song,” says Brown. “Somehow the connection that happens in the mingling of emotions in the vocals gets translated in the moving imagery. It’s pretty beautiful, while also somehow staying fun.”
We’re proud to premiere the video for “Drinkin’ Side.”
See Pieta Brown live.
