“A respected member of Nashville's indie pop and rock scene,
Tristen is both artful and exacting about her craft.
She knows what it takes to transform straightforward
gestures into something deeper.”
– NPR
"Tristen Takes a Psychological Lens to Love in 'Wrong With You'”
– AUDIOFEMME
Acclaimed singer-songwriter Tristen shares a beautifully animated video for the song "Cool Blue" from her soon-to-be-released fourth studio album, AQUATIC FLOWERS, arriving this Friday via Mama Bird Recording Co. The album was produced and recorded with her husband, bandmate, and occasional writing partner, Buddy Hughen, at their Nashville home studio. To make the video, Tristen edited the profound animation by Academy Award-nominated animator and film director Jimmy Murakami (The Snowman) that she discovered when searching through archives of public domain film footage. She found the film and realized that it perfectly portrayed what she was trying to say in the song.
"When I watched Murakami’s animation, I immediately knew I had stumbled upon a gift," says Tristen. "A fortuitous linking of two stories that must have hit some chord of truth — at least the two of us thought so. And lucky for me, Murakami’s animation places my song into a broader context of life and how we all give and receive eventually to our own certain demise – the life cycle of love within the cycle of life.
"'Cool Blue' is a love song about a relationship on the brink of going to the next level of intimacy or bust. It’s the story of a wildly emotive woman in love with a statue," Tristen continues. "It’s a passionate, near-hysterical reaction to a cool and unfeeling partner. I was channeling Stephin Merritt of The Magnetic Fields, I suppose, hopelessly analyzing the failures on both sides. You can’t, as you once thought, change someone. It’s left as hopeless as that."
Earlier in the month, Tristen released "Wrong With You," a song that is classic Tristen in that it deals with something deeply emotional while being wrapped in an indelibly sophisticated pop melody. "Wrong With You" was joined by a compelling official music video directed by Joshua Shoemaker (Alabama Shakes, Erin Rae), streaming now at Tristen's official YouTube channel.
AQUATIC FLOWERS was heralded in March with the release of the album's first single, “Complex." The song was accompanied by Tristen's self-directed and edited official music video, guest-starring Vanessa Carlton, Stefanie Drootin, Kristy Benjamin, Alise Grysen, and Alyssa Milano. In April, Tristen released "Athena." Co-written with Lera Lynn, "Athena" finds the Nashville-based Tristen empathizing with the goddess of wisdom and strength who is too often a marginalized female character. It is a deeply felt concept that one can also dance to, thanks to the song's jangly major chord garage-pop groove.
The release of AQUATIC FLOWERS will be celebrated with an album release show hosted by Chris Crofton on Tuesday, June 11. Tristen The Night Away 2 will take place at Nashville's beloved The Five Spot and see Tristen showcasing new songs alongside special guests and stars, such as Jenny Lewis, Vanessa Carlton, Brian Fallon, Robyn Hitchcock, Ezra Furman and more. For complete details, see the event's poster below or below or visit Tristen https://www.tristen.com/.
