Famine to Feast: Two New Arends Albums Out Now
Today is release day for not one but two new Arends projects. RECOGNITION is a fresh collection of 12 rootsy and melodic originals. And IN THE MORNING is a 7-song acoustic worship EP.
Considering it’s been 6 years since Carolyn’s last major release, the output is remarkable. It turns out that what seemed to be a fallow period was really a season of gestation …
From SEIZE THE DAY to (DARE TO BE) HAPPY to NOT ALONE, there has always been a current of stubborn optimism running through Carolyn Arends’s work. (A scribe for the LA Times once called her “an Aimee Mann who forgot to get up on the wrong side of the bed.”)
But when Carolyn entered a period of deep grief over the loss of her mother in 2018, she felt both her optimism and her will to write drain away.
“I learned slowly,” she says now, “that there is an art to grieving well. And, for a while, grieving well took everything I had.”
Then, early in 2020, Carolyn felt the stirrings of something new. She began to write, slowly at first, and then compulsively.
“I would wake up at 4am every morning with melodies and lyrics demanding my attention,” she confesses. “I was so glad to discover that my muse still had a pulse that I didn’t mind the sleep-deprivation.” By the summer, Carolyn realized it was time to go into the studio.
Though RECOGNITION is Carolyn’s 13th recording, it’s been six years since her last studio project. Somewhat sheepishly, Carolyn launched a Kickstarter, hoping to raise $20,000 towards production costs over 45 days.
The campaign reached its initial goal in just over 8 hours, and ultimately funded at 267%. “It was such a help to have some resources to invest in the music,” Carolyn admits, “but way more than that, discovering how deeply these songs resonate with folks has been both a balm and a spark.”
A personal highlight for Arends on RECOGNITION is her duet with Amy Grant. “Without Music” is a song about the enduring necessity and power of music, especially in difficult times. “I kept imagining Amy singing on the song, maybe because her voice was so seminal for me growing up,” Arends explains. “Knowing that this melody is the first thing Amy sang after major heart surgery makes me treasure her performance even more.”
While singles from both RECOGNITION and IN THE MORNING will be released to digital music platforms one by one throughout the year, you can get the entire project (CD or digital) from Carolyn’s Artist Shop, on Bandcamp, or at The Rabbit Room now ~ it's a great way to get an early scoop on the music and support Carolyn's artistry at the same time.