Vanessa Carlton To Release "Electronic Dance-Pop Record"

It would appear that singer/songwriter Vanessa Carlton is shifting musical directions on her upcoming fifth studio album.  According to an article last month in The Observer, the student-run daily newspaper for Notre Dame and St. Mary's Colleges, Carlton's as-yet-untitled fifth studio album will be...GET THIS..."an electronic dance-pop record."  SAY WHAT?!

Now before we all get too excited, I'm sure she doesn't ACTUALLY mean dance-pop.  The Prophet did a write up about Carlton's new project, suggesting that Carlton PROBABLY didn't realize the often negative connotations surrounding "electronic dance-pop," and how that instantly conjures up images of generic David Guetta-manufactured bass-heavy dance jams featuring Pitbull, Ne-Yo or Flo-Rida.  Instead, Prophet smartly hypothesizes that Carlton likely just meant something more downtempo or folktronica and I'm inclined to agree.  Perhaps something more along the lines of Ellie Goulding, versus Jewel's flop 0304 (which, for the record, happens to be AMAZING).  That being said, the mere prospect of Vanessa Carlton dipping her classically trained ballerina toes in the electronic music pool is almost too much for me to handle.  According to Carlton, this seemingly out-of-left-field move into the electronica genre isn't nearly as "out-of-left field" as one might think.

"It's going to be different. I think it's oddly a natural progression from 'Rabbits [On The Run].' I don't really know how I can explain that in a way that makes sense, but once I think we start making the tracks, it will make sense. I'm really, really excited."

And so am I, Vanessa. So am I.  Citing her "college-aged brother's trippy, euphoric music" and "classical mythology" as her inspirations for the new album make me even more excited.  "I'm very inspired by Shamanism and right now, I'm kind of revisiting a lot of old mythological tales and kind of psychedelic poetry," she continues.  Very interesting.  According to the article, Carlton will return to England (where she recorded Rabbits On The Run) to record her new record. To say that I am excited about this new project would be the understatement of the year.

My eyes and ears have been transfixed on Vanessa Carlton since the release of her debut album just over 10 years ago (has it REALLY been 10 years?).  There's always been something so soothing and effortless about the way Carlton sings, coupled with her mesmerizing skills as a pianist and gifted songwriting abilities.  While not be the best technical singer, Carlton's light, airy vocals lend themselves perfectly to her heartfelt, enchanting lyrics that suck you in every time. 

I've had the pleasure of seeing Carlton perform live three times now and after each time I'm left wondering why she isn't a bigger star. I guess with an artist like Vanessa Carlton, it's never been about making a hit record. All she needed to cement herself into pop history was one catchy piano hook, and she found that with "A Thousand Miles." While I'm sure she wouldn't turn away another hit single, it's clearly not her end goal.  Her end goal is to write songs that speak to people and I have no doubt that album number five will speak to me.

Rabbits on The Run was released July 26th 2011 on Razor & Tie Records, peaking at #62 on the Billboard 200 chart.  Lead single, "Carousel," came out last May and failed to chart.  The same day the album dropped, Carlton released supposed second single, "I Don't Want To Be A Bride," on her official VEVO channel, followed by a performance of the song later that year on Conan.  

According to Carlton's management, a new Jake Davis-directed music video for third single, "Hear The Bells," will be unveiled June 7th on her official VEVO channel. Check out the video for "Carousel" BELOW.

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