We hope you can join us at Grimey’s on Thursday, July 2nd for a special early record release event with Allison Russell! In The Hour Of Chaos, Allison’s third full-length album, will officially be released by Fantasy Records on July 10th, however we’ll be welcoming Allison and her band to the shop more than a week early to celebrate the new album. At 4:00 PM on 7/2, Allison will perform a short set comprised of songs from the new record and sign copies of In The Hour Of Chaos for event attendees. You can read more about her new album and preorder your copy on our site here (or the next time you’re in the shop). All who preorder the album on limited edition Aubergine colored vinyl or CD from Grimey’s will receive a wristband for Allison’s post-performance signing. Allison is a delightful & talented person—she’s a wonderful musician and a valued member of our community. We love her and are so excited to be able to host her at Grimey’s and celebrate her beautiful new album.
In the Hour of Chaosis a fervent plea for connection in this time of alienation, isolation and dread. These are songs meant to reverse the tides that pull us farther and farther apart, even from ones we love the most.This is a record meant to make you feel GOOD, and, in these times, feeling good is a radical act. It’s only fitting then, that Russell leaned into her vibrant and ever expanding community of artists and friends to create a collaborative song suite that goes far beyond a succession of features.
The songs unfold like a series of one act plays with Allison, who joins with an artist(s) from her rainbow diaspora, many from her adopted home in Nashville. Tactile, vulnerable, raw, soothing, sensual, sad–each is a little capsule of humans being fully human and fully present. From the quiet reckoning of “No Springtime,” featuring Joy Oladokun and Julie Williams, to the bittersweet glow of “Cold April,” where Kara Jackson—a recent collaborator of the Gorillaz and formerly the U.S. National Youth Poet Laureate—joins Denitia, a CMT Next Women of Country selection who was also featured in Dolly Parton’sThreads: My Songs in Symphony, alongsideRussell’s daughter and Ida’s Explore! Pop Choir adds intergenerational depth. Allison Russell curates her collaborators with care:Brittney Spencer’s earthy soul on “Black Lavender,” NorahJones’ intimate ease on “Really Real,” Ruby Amanfu’s vulnerable grace on “Just Like Saturday”–all serve as portals into our flawed, fantastic, interconnected lives.
Elsewhere on the album, Devon Gilfillian brings effortless warmth to “Love is a Golden Lion,” Kashus Culpepper lends grit and swagger to “Searchlight,” Chibueze Ihuoma adds an other worldly tenderness to “Two Stars,” and Ahya Simone’s incomparable harp closes the circle with the haunting “Good Omens.” Across these songs, Russell holds the center effortlessly, while illuminating the voices of her chosen family. She turns these through lines into golden thread, strengthening as she weaves, the only protection she knows against the chaos of this hour.
We are pumped to celebrate Allison’s new album with her and all of you. Preoreder your copy of In The Hour Of Chaos now and be here for the festivities on July 2nd! See you soon, Music City.
