Photo Credit: Rachel Brennecke
The last time Laura Stevenson played a show in Boston, it was as a touring member of Antarctigo Vespucci, a project of her friends and frequent collaborators Jeff Rosenstock and Chris Farren. When the wave of balloons Farren and Rosenstock unleashed into the crowd at that show washed back up on stage, Stevenson could be seen going out of her way between songs to throw them back into circulation to keep the party going. The thoughtfulness illustrated by that small act also animates the songs she writes and releases under her solo project—and in the case of her two new singles, even how she releases them.
“The Mystic & the Master” and “Maker of Things” were released last month purposefully on her mother’s birthday, December 20th. “I grew up watching my mom go through so much,” Stevenson is quoted in the press release. “I just wanted to share this as a way of showing her my appreciation for everything she endured while raising me and my sister.”
Stevenson’s musicianship is a devastating vehicle for the subject matter, and the songs are deeply affecting.
Proceeds from Bandcamp sales benefit Safe Horizon, a non-profit that supports survivors of domestic violence, child abuse, sexual assault, and human trafficking.