THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “U.S. singer-songwriter Amy Rigby’s new album Hang In There With Me features 11 up-to-the-minute tunes written by Amy and recorded by Wreckless Eric at the couple’s home in upstate N.Y.
A bracing look at life inside the vortex of the last few years, Hang In There With Me examines mortality, aging and youthful missteps that — refracted through Amy’s insightful lyricism — emerge not wistful but resolute and even triumphant. Rigby’s distinctive voice bluntly traverses love, loss and DIY projects gone wrong over guitars cranked or shimmering, indelible bass lines, a raft of synthesisers, keyboards, beatboxes and the occasional drummer allowed into Amy and Eric’s rustic mid-century echo chamber.
Like some people turn to the moon and stars for inspiration, Rigby looks to creative heroes like Bob Dylan and Mike Leigh. She finds poetry in haircuts, live chat boxes, bartending and bookselling. Her music is the sound of everyday people getting by, just like the country artists she loved and learned to write songs from.
The recording of Hang In There With Me was bookended by Amy performing in the round alongside Nashville compadre David Olney when he died onstage in January 2020, and the demise of Amy’s dad. Along with Eric’s near-fatal heart attack, it could have all made for heavy going in the studio, but Amy says:
“There was nothing to hide in the few years when no one could see each other. And with my dad losing his mind and passing away, there’s not much left to prove anymore. Watching key figures in our lives die just makes it clear that getting older is a gift and brings a new kind of freedom. Writing songs, making records and touring has been my life and I’m lucky I have the energy and will to keep at it. I still just want to share stories and rock out on guitar.
“The world is such a mess,” she says. “Writing songs and working in the studio is a small way to make order out of the chaos. It keeps on giving me hope. Hang In There With Me looks at the impossibility of life and living it anyway, with abandon. First single Dylan In Dubuque was inspired by a notorious ’90s Bob Dylan concert in Iowa, where a lack of security led to chaos and a nonstop stage invasion that Bob simply took in his stride. If only we could all be so unfazed when things get weird!”
Rigby has established herself one of America’s most beloved and enduring indie artists, combining the insight and humour of country and folk songwriting with classic rock craftsmanship and punk DIY spirit. She formed pre-Americana country band Last Roundup and Richard Hell’s favourite girl group The Shams in downtown N.Y.C. before launching a solo career with the ’90s classic album Diary Of A Mod Housewife. Amy’s honest, kinetic songwriting has earned her praise from critics and other artists (‘Think Randy Newman and Loudon Wainwright at their best’ says Steve Earle). Her songs have been covered by Laura Cantrell and Ronnie Spector, John Flansburgh of They Might Be Giants and Maria Doyle Kennedy. Her 2019 memoir Girl To City was called an instant classic. She divides her time between New York and the U.K. with her husband and sometime duo partner Wreckless Eric.”
