Soul Sick

“The Oregon-based singer-songwriter and guitarist Ford is like a cross between Liz Phair and Buddy Holly”. – New Yorker

There are artists who can command attention. They lean into their songs with an irresistible edge and total emotional connection and stay there. Sallie Ford is one of those artists. On her album Soul Sick, out on February 10, 2017 via Vanguard Records, Ford creates music that draws on all of her influences but still comes out her own. From the album’s opening line “I woke up feeling sour on the sweetest summer day,” the 11 tracks on the album chronicle Ford’s journey through anxiety, insecurity, and depression.

“This is a ‘confessional’ album. It’s about struggling with my issues – some that I’ve overcome and some that I still carry around. I felt confused, down about life and unsure of myself,” states Ford. “On these new songs, it felt good to write on one theme and from one place. All in all, Soul Sick has taught me a lot about myself and helped me to heal.”

That healing is captured throughout the music played on the album. With Mike Coykendall (M. Ward and She & Him) at the helm, it’s laced with nostalgic feeling and produced to enhance that essence. “I asked Mike to produce, Ford says. “He loves old rock & roll and always records on tape, but he’s also an experimenter, exploring new things with his music.

Soul Sick finds Ford further mining, updating and perfecting her vintage influences to stand alongside her uncompromising and confessional lyricism. On her first themed album, her doo-wop harmonies, slippery British invasion keyboards, and crunchy, fuzzed-out guitars back Ford’s distinctive howl and surround her at-once intimate and confrontational musings on love, depression, and fear.

Ford’s solo debut (Slap Back in 2014) garnered raves from The New Yorker, LA Weekly, New York Daily News, Bust, Magnet, Paste, Mother Jones and more. Prior to taking her career solo, Ford fronted The Sound Outside who performed on The Late Show with David Letterman and amassed critical acclaim from USA Today, Boston Globe, Interview, Nylon, NPR, Paste and many more.

SOUL SICK TRACK LISTING:
Record On Repeat
Screw Up
Loneliness Is Power
Get Out
Failure
Middle Child
Never Gonna Please
Romanticized Catastrophe
Hurts So Bad
Unraveling
Rapid Eyes