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Vanessa Carlton is literally and figuratively a thousand miles from where she was when the similarly named single invaded airwaves and pop culture in 2002.
The singer/songwriter is living in Nashville nowadays, raising her baby girl Sid and celebrating her second year of marriage with husband John McCauley of Deer Tick.
But today, she’s touring the U.S. and introducing fans who haven’t heard from her in over a decade to her newest masterpiece that is Liberman.
The 10-track album is hard to describe, Carlton says. She thinks it’s dream pop, but she can’t be sure. The only thing she knows is that this album is 100% her.
“Once I left the major label system in 2010, that’s when things got really good in my opinion,” Carlton muses. “That’s when things got good in the sense of authentic and more of a reflection of where I’m at. I had no committee of executives I was trying to please.”
Songs like Operator, a clear standout, are similar to older songs like White Houses in artist only. She agrees those songs — written about a decade apart – barely echo one another, but there’s certainly a magic to playing a whole set of music for those same fans from the early ’00s.
“I feel like people are connecting with the new record and it’s almost like I’m a new artist, which is good. It’s not like I’m just some monkey on stage playing one song that people know. That’s not what the show is at all. It’s almost like connecting for the first time to an audience in a way.”
Expecting to hear that “one song that people know” at this show? Well, you might be in luck, but don’t count on it.
“I play a couple older songs and that’s it. So people seem to be happy with the show the way it is. People don’t feel duped. And if it is, then it’s not the show for you.”
Vanessa Carlton takes the state at New Mountain Asheville on Feb. 6 at 8 p.m. Opening for her is Skye Steele, a Brooklyn-based singer and songwriter.
Purchase your tickets — http://www.newmountainavl.com/event/958331-vanessa-carlton-asheville/
Download Liberman — https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/liberman/id1049425359
Learn more about Skye Steele — http://skyesteele.com/
