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Canadian Alt-Country Artist Andrea England Gets Honest About Holiday Bitter-Sweetness On New Single



The Sound Cafe

Canadian Alt-Country Artist Andrea England Gets Honest About Holiday Bitter-Sweetness On New Single


By Eric Alper.


Christmas is a difficult time for many – if not most – people, even if that isn’t the way it’s usually portrayed by retailers and in the media. With that in mind, alt-country artist Andrea England gets refreshingly, reassuringly honest about the bitter-sweetness of the holiday in her new single “Jolly Melancholy Christmas".

A slow, thoughtful guitar ballad, “Jolly Melancholy Christmas” is introspective without being a complete tearjerker (although you’re absolutely allowed to cry). Like many people, England recently lost some people who were close to her, and the loss has tinged the holidays with sadness over the last few years.

“I like to keep it real, as much as possible, in songs and in life,” England says. “When I think of Christmas, and the holidays, the first one is always the hardest when you’ve lost someone. Every ‘first’ without them is hard, not only for me, but for all of us.”

So have a jolly melancholy Christmas
It’s the best and worst time of the year
So raise a glass to good and bad
To all we’ve lost and all we have
At least we’re all in this together

Her first Christmas song ever, “Jolly Melancholy Christmas” came to England when a broadcaster from Nova Scotia, her hometown, asked her last year if she had a holiday song he could play during the East Coast Rising. She didn’t that year, but it sparked an idea.

“I thought, what would I write about? It’s going to be so melancholy – so ‘Jolly Melancholy Christmas’ came to mind.” Coincidentally, she had a writing session scheduled with two of her friends and long-time collaborators, Liz Rodrigues and James Bryan, and the song was borne of that session and that nurturing friendship. “They’re both very sensitive, emotionally tuned-in people,” England says.

Andrea England is an award-winning singer/songwriter; the founder, curator, and host of Toronto’s hottest songwriter series, Four Chords & the Truth; and has released two critically-acclaimed albums – Lemonade and Hope & Other Sins, the latter of which was produced by Grammy-winning producer Colin Linden. Andrea’s third release, Evidence of Love, is currently in pre-production with producer Hill Kourkoutis, and is slated for a May 2023 release.

Her single “Jolly Melancholy Christmas” is available now.

Canadian Alt-Country Artist Andrea England Gets Honest About Holiday Bitter-Sweetness on New Single “Jolly Melancholy Christmas”
Christmas is a difficult time for many – if not most – people, even if that isn’t the way it’s usually portrayed by retailers and in the media. With that in mind, alt-country artist Andrea England gets refreshingly, reassuringly honest about the bitter-sweetness of the holiday in her new single “Jolly Melancholy Christmas” – available now.

A slow, thoughtful guitar ballad, “Jolly Melancholy Christmas” is introspective without being a complete tearjerker (although you’re absolutely allowed to cry). Like many people, England recently lost some people who were close to her, and the loss has tinged the holidays with sadness over the last few years.

“I like to keep it real, as much as possible, in songs and in life,” England says. “When I think of Christmas, and the holidays, the first one is always the hardest when you’ve lost someone. Every ‘first’ without them is hard, not only for me, but for all of us.”

So have a jolly melancholy Christmas
It’s the best and worst time of the year
So raise a glass to good and bad
To all we’ve lost and all we have
At least we’re all in this together

Her first Christmas song ever, “Jolly Melancholy Christmas” came to England when a broadcaster from Nova Scotia, her hometown, asked her last year if she had a holiday song he could play during the East Coast Countdown. She didn’t that year, but it sparked an idea.

“I thought, what would I write about? It’s going to be so melancholy – so ‘Jolly Melancholy Christmas’ came to mind.” Coincidentally, she had a writing session scheduled with two of her friends and long-time collaborators, Liz Rodrigues and James Bryan, and the song was borne of that session and that nurturing friendship. “They’re both very sensitive, emotionally tuned-in people,” England says.

Andrea England is an award-winning singer/songwriter; the founder, curator, and host of Toronto’s hottest songwriter series, Four Chords & the Truth; and has released two critically-acclaimed albums – Lemonade and Hope & Other Sins, the latter of which was produced by Grammy-winning producer Colin Linden. Andrea’s third release, Evidence of Love, is currently in pre-production with producer Hill Kourkoutis, and is slated for a May 2023 release.

Her single “Jolly Melancholy Christmas” is available now.

For more information, please contact:

Eric Alper
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New Release: Andrea England - I Won’t Forget About You
Long-awaited first glimpse of Andrea England’s next chapter.. This is the heartbreaking “I Won’t Forget About You.”

Sometimes, England says, the song writes you.

Andrea England Airs her "Laundry" (single & video)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
February 24, 2014


Songwriter Andrea England's airs her ‘Laundry’ video from acclaimed “Hope & Other Sins CD! It’s been a terrific time of late for one of our country’s finest songwriters, Andrea England, and her latest album, “Hope & Other Sins” (produced by Colin Linden -- Bruce Cockburn, T-Bone Burnett, Lucinda Williams).

“Laundry”, a special song from the new disc, written in a roots-country style, is now showcased on Video! Journeying through a present-day/flashback, Laundry finds the beauty & joy despite the trials in a relationship - and within oneself. "Everyday life may not end up being what you pictured when you were a kid," Andrea says, "but you can't let it disappoint or define you; it's never too late to find grace within."
Perhaps this glass-half-full optimism is why the album is receiving such great attention. Enjoying wide airplay on folk, pop, country, commercial and community radio stations, this album has been a hit with critics on home turf as well as south of the border.

Indeed, “Hope & Other Sins” hit #1 on Galaxie’s FolkRoots chart, made and stayed on the RMR's Top Folk Albums Chart for 15 weeks, and won the Country 103 Emerging Artist Showdown! Andrea was also profiled in the prestigious pages of International Musician.

This warm reception has also set Andrea on a showcase bonanza, with a bounty of jury-selected performances at such key industry events as ECMA’s Songwriters Showcase, the USA Songwriting Competition Finalists showcase @ the venerable SXSW, and its northern sister, NXNE, where Andrea performed to a capacity crowd at Toronto's premier country & roots venue, the Dakota Tavern.

Last Spring also saw Andrea toting her songwriting hat in sunny LA, working on pitches with co-writers for other artists.

The fall bustled with official showcases at Nova Scotia Music Week as well as Canadian Country Music Week (the celebrated SOCAN Songwriters Café)— the ECMA's will present Andrea in their official Country showcase in April.

But before that, after shows this February at Blue Bird North Vancouver (Tues Feb 11) and Edmonton's Uptown Folk Club's “Winterfest” (Valentine’s Day), see Andrea at the Wednesday Night Songwriters Showcase at the Cadillac Lounge on Feb 26th.

See Andrea's "Laundry" Video here: http://tinyurl.com/kytf3zm


MEDIA ENQUIRIES:
Lisa Weitz, LW Communications
lw@lwcommunications.ca
416-624-3466 (office)
416-846-6877 (cell)



Hope & Other Sins
”Andrea continues to prove her talent with words is no flash in the pan. The stories are decorated in wonderful images and turn of phrase. Many songwriters sing and write fairly good melodies but to catch that ear with a clever line in a lyric over and over is talent of a rare kind. Joni Mitchell has it, Dylan, Leonard Cohen, John Prine, Lucinda Williams and several others – who are famous. Despite still flying below their radar, Andrea deserves the special attention for her detailed, concise writing ability and fine voice. She is economical in her approach but the recipe is flavorful, consistent and memorable.” - John Apice, No Depression

“This CD makes the world a better place. If there’s a JUNO (Canada’s Grammy) for unaffected innocence, it should go to [Hope & Other Sins]…10 neatly crafted country-leaning songs are tunefully melodic and entirely believable in their straightforward narratives… England has the enviable quality of sounding entirely like the characters she’s created…” - Peter Goddard, The Toronto Star

There is always hope. And if one is very lucky, a little sin becomes part of the bargain. Music lovers will surely enjoy this good fortune with the release of Andrea England’s sophomore CD, "Hope & Other Sins"!

A full 7 years after her debut which, when it was released, won the Nova Scotian native serious recognition: from a John Lennon International Songwriting prize to acknowledgements from the USA International, OCFF and NSAI Songwriting Competitions, Music Nova Scotia, and the Toronto Independent Music Awards.

And to think that an ill-fated, life-altering car accident back in 1999 might have ended this momentum – and her story (she was delivering first EP to a record store in the nation’s capital). Although it brought her career to a full stop, she survived with a fresh outlook, and resolved to turn all lemons to ‘lemonade’ – ultimately, the title of her award-winning debut.

The accident and subsequent heart-related illness further cemented England’s resolve to hone her craft. A songwriter first, and a hungry one at that with 140 compositions and counting, her collaborations with an international Who’s Who of songwriting professionals include Dan Hill, Bruce Brody (Rickie Lee Jones, Patty Smith), Bryan Allen (Heart), Jeremy Ruzumna (Macy Gray), Liz Rodrigues (Eminem), and many others.

Picked up by television and movie producers hoping to lock into the fickle young adult market through England’s insightful musical themes and pop-oriented hooks, she has landed songs on several hit TV shows.

Add to the mix songs co-written for the likes of Boi-1da-produced Nicole Scherzinger debut double Gold solo project Killer Love, and French Idol finalist Miss Dominique's debut album, and you have an artist whose breadth of talent is unmistakable.

Now returning to her own solo project, it has taken her no less attention-to-detail and artistry to craft the second offering– a decidedly different take on her singer-songwriter stance with the deft guitar and production skills of Colin Linden (Bruce Cockburn, Emmylou Harris, Lucinda Williams) and top musicians from Nashville to New York, to Toronto and Canada's east coast! Under Linden’s tutelage, England’s sensitive songcraft and rigorous attention to lyrical integrity is grafted to a calibre of musicianship befitting her material.

A core team of Gary Craig (drums), John Dymond (bass), John Whynot (piano, organ) and Linden on a rootsy array of guitars, mandolins and dobro, give England’s 10 new compositions the musical artistry they deserve. Add in Damhnait Doyle, Liz Rodrigues and Carolyn Dawn Johnson on harmony vocals and players like Gordie Sampson (guitars), Dan Dugmore (pedal steel—James Taylor, Linda Ronstadt) and Bruce Brody (piano), and the concept of ‘hope’ hardly comes into it.

Fiercely indie, Andrea England is perfectly poised to take on the next chapter of her career, generously offering up the best of both worlds (roots meets pop) and the rich palette of her heart.

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“It’s a tossup as to what’s cooler: the fact that Andrea England sounds like the Heartless Bastards doing Tom Waits, or that she has dressed up this bluesy, bourbon-scented beauty in 16 coats of shimmering Hammond.” The Straight.com (on “Hothouse Flower” from Hope & Other Sins)

“The songs are autobiographical, personal, honest and universal. The performances are potent as you might expect; England’s vocals are delicate yet strong, powerfully supported by the band’s precision. The album is filled with hope … the sin would be that nobody hears it.” - Critics At Large

“It’s clear how Andrea’s a songwriter through and through; the record easily sounds like something Kathleen Edwards or Tina Dico would release. This record has great folk moments that reveal themselves in top-notch pop production. Listen to the memorable “Laundry” and be sure to get a copy.” - New Canadian Music

"From its stunning cover art to its intriguing title, “Hope & Other Sins,” Andrea England’s new album opens up into nothing short of a musical masterpiece. One of the most poetic lyricists writing today, England possesses that rarest of abilities, crafting music which enhance her words. ... Experience a writer/singer/musician who is clearly at the top of her game." - Tony Tedeschi, Music Columnist, AOL’s patch.com

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MEDIA ENQUIRIES: Lisa Weitz, LW Communications lw@lwcommunications.ca 416-624-3466 (office)