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Kelcey Ayer – songwriter, vocalist, and pianist for Los Angeles’ own Local Natives – will release his solo debut album as Jaws of Love in the UK on 3rd November and in the USA on Friday, but starting today the incredible record is streaming exclusively via Hype Machine.
The first side project from any member of Local Natives, Jaws of Love. sees Ayer hone in on his master craft: the emotive piano ballad as highlighted on Local Natives’ critically-acclaimed second album Hummingbird. The resulting project – ‘Tasha Sits Close to the Piano’, named by Ayer’s wife for their Siberian Husky Tasha – is what Ayer calls his “truest self.”
Ayer on the album stream:
“I’m thrilled to have Hype Machine give people the first listen of my debut record, Tasha Sits Close to the Piano. Even though this project started a little over a year ago, it feels as though I’ve been working on it my whole life. I’ve never been more proud of anything I’ve done, so if you don’t like it, I may move to an island and become that ‘fun bartender’ tourists love to visit once a year on their family vacations, but I’ll be still proud of myself for having done it. And in 50 years, some fan will want to make a documentary on me, and I’ll be like, ‘no, I can’t! I’m not the man you thought I was…’ and it will end in a standing ovation at the Grammys, and, from my wheelchair with my ridiculous tan (for a man of that age), I’ll proclaim, ‘Believe in the impossible, and above all, in yourselves!’ Anyways, I hope you dig the record.”
Kelcey Ayer, the creative force behind Jaws of Love., has always been an ace at writing a good love song – he just didn’t always know it. “I used to think that in order to write about love, something had to be wrong,” he says. “I often got my material from pain, or insecurity, or problems – I thought I couldn’t write a good love song because I am in love and it’s going so well. But I’ve grown to realize that even in the most amazing relationships there are turbulent times and misunderstandings that are unavoidable. And that doesn’t mean that anything is doomed, but love is such a complicated thing. The idea of ‘jaws of love’ felt so perfect for this project because it’s all about love’s trials and tribulations.” Drawing from the idiosyncrasies of romance, Ayer’s aptly-named solo-project Jaws of Love. was born.
Stream Jaws Of Love here: https://hypem.com/premiere/jaws+of+love
As Local Natives geared up to release their third album last summer, Ayer booked time in the same LA studio, Electro-Vox, where the band had recorded ‘Sunlit Youth’, and in a three-day burst he recorded a handful of his own songs with the help of engineer Michael Harris and mixer Cian Riordan. Without any intention of releasing the tracks initially, Ayer allowed his emotional intuition to lead the way in the process. This ultimately yielded powerful results and was an exhilarating experience that led Ayer to decide to continue writing. He returned to the studio later in the year, and – aided by the studio’s myriad synthesizers, antique equipment, preamps, and outboard gear, in addition to drums recorded by Local Natives’ drummer Matt Frazier – Ayer completed his gorgeous solo debut.
Every track on ‘Tasha Sits Close to the Piano’ showcases Ayer in his most authentic form.“The whole project is me trying to embrace my nuances and indulge in it,” he says. “It was such an awesome release making these songs, and that let me embrace who I feel like I am. It was wonderful to not have to explain myself to anyone. I have dark piano music in my heart and soul, and Jaws of Love. is me at my truest self.”
Tracklisting
1. Jaws of Love.
2. Hawaiian License Plates.
3. Lake Tahoe.
4. Microwaves
5. Shrink…
6. Everything.
7. Love Me Like I’m Gone.
8. Before the Hurting Lands.
9. Costa Rica.
10. Nightlight.
TOUR DATES: September 21 – Los Angeles, CA – Masonic Lodge, November 9 – San Francisco, CA – Cafe du Nord, November 10 – Portland, OR – Fremont Theater, November 11 – Vancouver, BC – St. James Hall – November 12 – Seattle, WA – Barboza.