When up is down and black is white, how do you make sense of what makes no sense? Maintaining equanimity, innocence, and authenticity within a world of deep fakes, media manipulation, and 24-hour news is what inspired many of the ten songs on The Violet Mine’s new album White Night. Slated for release on February 16, 2024, White Night is a collaboration between singer-songwriter, Meredith Minogue and songwriter-guitarist, Jim Barry along with an all-star cast of local New York City musicians who have collaborated with the duo for years.
On their latest compilation, the band delivers their eclectic blend of alternative, melodic indie-folk and rock and roll. White Night is an atmospheric tapestry with splashes of new wave and dream pop that explores themes of vulnerability, exploitation, and faith.
The duo approaches the recording process like painting a picture. The recordings start as live band performances in the studio that are then layered with textures of other instruments to create the perfect environment for the lyrics to shine and tell the story of the song.
The opener, Perfect Host, begins with an organ swell and acoustic guitar sending an innocent songwriter into the uncertain world of the music business. The frantic, off-kilter rhythms of Some Say are reminiscent of a Punch & Judy puppet show going off the rails. Air Ride’s sleek stylized rock tells the story of a paranoid, panic-stricken traveler and a slick hijacker intersecting during the golden age of air travel. So, the Devil, an apocalyptic rainstorm drenched in a harmonium drone, closes the album.
Speaking of the focus track, The Violet Mine comments, “‘Do No Harm’ was written and recorded at home on the first day of the COVID lockdown in New York. The lyrics focus on the historical character of the plague doctor. These unqualified doctors traveled from town to town grifting desperate people who were dying from the disease. Their appearance, which included a primitive “respirator” fashioned from a beak stuffed with herbs to ward off bad air, signaled to townspeople that death was near.”
TRACKLIST
Perfect Host
Do No Harm
White Night
Phantom Pain
Hand Me My Suitcase
Blame Me
Say Hello
Some Say
Air Ride
So, the Devil
Produced & Mixed by: Reed Black and The Violet Mine
Engineered by: Reed Black
Recorded & Mixed at Vinegar Hill Sound, Brooklyn NY
Art Direction: Rob Crane
Photography: Merri Cyr
Mastered by: Joe Lambert/Joe Lambert Mastering
ABOUT THE VIOLET MINE
NYC-based band The Violet Mine is Meredith Minogue (singer/songwriter/guitarist) and Jim Barry (songwriter/guitarist/multi-instrumentalist). Their sound is drawn from rock and roll, folk rock, 70’s singer-songwriters, new wave, country blues, and dream pop. It’s a bit like The Pretenders, Neil Young, and Nick Drake having a drink while checking out a Marc Chagall exhibit. Originally named Violet, they recorded two full-length albums, We Both Know It’s Out There and The Last Cathedral, both of which were produced/engineered by Adam Lasus (Helium, Clem Snide, PJ Harvey, Yo La Tengo).
Performing Songwriter Magazine called their debut “lyrically ambitious and texturally complex” and “one of the best independent releases of the year”. They have appeared on CD compilations created by Magnet Magazine, Pop Culture Press, and Jarmusic’s Coast to Coast, which included tracks by the Cowboy Junkies and Ani DiFranco. The band has played at The Loft at City Winery, Rockwood Music Hall, Webster Hall, Knitting Factory, and CMJ.
The Violet Mine’s forthcoming album, White Night, produced and engineered by Reed Black (Depeche Mode, Karen O, and Vampire Weekend) is a collection of ten songs that includes flashes of contemporary folk-rock mingling with guitar riffs, swirling synthesizers, and intimate lyrics.
