Brookville 'Life In The Shade' album

Characterizing Brookville as a way to scratch a creative itch he can't quite reach with his other projects (Ivy and Paco), singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist/producer Andy Chase explains, "As an artistic experience, it's incredibly satisfying, and I don't think there's anything closer to my heart." Released on Chase's own Unfiltered Records, Brookville's second record, called Life in the Shade was recorded in New York at Stratosphere Sound, which is co-owned by Chase, Adam Schlesinger (Fountains of Wayne, Ivy) and James Iha (Smashing Pumpkins, Perfect Circle). Life in the Shade is the follow-up to 2003's critically acclaimed Wonderfully Nothing .

"I sing with this band, and as a result there's so much freedom in the writing," Chase says. "With Ivy, Dominique is my muse but also my mouthpiece; I write lyrics that she feels represent her and that means exploring more universal experiences. In that setting, I'm also co-writing with Adam, so, in a sense, my original creative impulses have to go through two security checks, and that can be frustrating. Brookville allows me to be completely uncensored. There are no compromises. It's a bit cathartic, and the results are very personal, very specific to me."

Chase concedes that Life in the Shade was an opportunity to explore the tristesse he isn't comfortable discussing in real life. But he mounts these emotional expeditions in the tradition of songwriters like Nick Drake, Alex Chilton and Elliot Smith, who made a kind of ecstatic, romantic beauty out of their melancholy.

Note the standout “Golden” -- boasting an indelible hook, heraldic trumpet line and lovely imagery like “Driving through the hills/ The sun breaks as it's sinking ,” the song nonetheless concludes with the fraught proposition, “Now we have to prove that nothing comes between us/ But shaking out the truth can kill or it can free us.” Despite the enormously pleasurable pop framework, you get the impression that Chase fears the killing is more likely than the freeing.

There's moodiness to Life in the Shade , a twilight state suggested by the title and the refrain “We are shadows” (from the song “Shadows”). About “Blue Morning,” the lilting, lingering album opener, which bears the line, “All this sunshine leaves me cold/There now you know,” Chase says: “Why shouldn't you feel good on a bright, sunny day? The fact is, a lot of people don't, and it annoys the hell out of them to walk outside and see people laughing and looking so happy.”

To be sure, Brookville's thematic preoccupations are uniquely Chase's. Yet he's quick to acknowledge his collaborators. Life in the Shade owes much of its easy-to-get-lost-in sonic depth to Cyril Moisson, a Paris-based sound editor, who is one of Chase's closest friends. Moisson lent his prowess as a multi-instrumentalist and brought his expertise in composition, programming and production to the proceedings as well.

Chase foremost credits Moisson with, among other things, "having these wonderfully strange influences." "Cyril's really into [modern French composer] Erik Satie," Chase informs, "and a lot of obscure European music I don't know. He keeps everything interesting." Moisson, in turn, praises Chase, "Andy is very reactive and very quick ... he can take small elements of your work and turn it into a basic song in a few minutes. He's always positive about propositions so you feel comfortable to experiment and you can trust him to keep the best parts." "Working on material for Brookville is one of the most intuitive things I do," Chase illuminates. "It allows me to follow every path I start down. The final result is as close as I can possibly come to realizing what was in my head when I conceived these things. That's why this music is so important to me. Then again, sometimes I think it's just a pretext for Cyril and I to hang out."

Iha and Schlesinger also contributed performances, as did Fountains of Wayne guitarist Jody Porter, Eric Matthews (trumpet, flugelhorn, vocals), and members of the Brazilian Girls (Didi Gutman and Sabina Sciubba). Greg Pliska (Hem) arranged and conducted much of the album's gorgeous, transporting string passages. Chase, meanwhile, shared mixing duties with Steve Osborne (The Cure, New Order, Doves).

“There are some phenomenal guest appearances on this record,” Chase says. “It was very focused in terms of artistic direction, but at the same time, the nature of the record allowed people to come in and contribute these magnificent performances. We just grabbed our friends and said, ‘Hey, do you want to play something here?'”

He elaborates: “James Iha sings backup on our version of the The's ‘Slow Emotion Replay.' He has a great voice and you just don't hear it that often. Eric Matthews also did a lot of background vocals, and he happens to be one of the greatest trumpet players working in pop and rock music today. Jody Porter did this guitar solo on ‘Missed You Again' that's like something off Dark Side of the Moon . People don't realize how cut and patched together most performances are today, but Jody just walks into the studio, and, in one take, breaks out this incredible, two-and-a-half-minute solo that's on the record completely unedited.”

Brookville toured with Goldfrapp in support of Wonderfully nothing ; expect to see Chase and various members of his creative collective on the road later this year.

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Brookville - Life In The Shade