Calling Margaret Glaspy’s new record, I Am Both, “stripped back” is two describe it twice over: once for how it sounds, once for how she got there.
Produced by Joe Henry (Aimee Mann, Joan Baez), the followup to 2023’s remarkable Echo the Diamond is certainly a more acoustic affair than its predecessor. Glaspy’s fingerpicking and the fact that the songs were recorded live over three days at New York City’s Reservoir Studios with a tight trio (drummer Jay Bellerose, keyboardist Patrick Warren, and bassist Ross Gallagher) give Glaspy’s emotional observations — both the personal and the worldly — riveting weight.
Find Margaret Glaspy Tickets Here
But the rawness wasn’t just a result of the album’s relatively low-key recording approach. Glaspy actively stripped down to the essence of her craft, and that meant cutting out the digitial interference. “At first it was really hard to break that addiction to social media, but after a while something shifted,” she said in a press statement. “It felt like I’d gotten back to original thought instead of being under the influence of so many outside opinions. It was life-changing.”
Related Video
The songs on I Am Both are, therefore, entirely of Glaspy. Their immediacy and intimacy, their determination and authenticity, are a product an artist fully embracing herself. Take a listen to the album, and read Glaspy’s Track by Track breakdown, below. You can also snag the LP on vinyl and CD here.
Margaret Glaspy will head out on tour this fall in support of I Am Both; get tickets here.
“Michigan”:
The beginnings of this song were written while on a tour bus. I had just finished a tour that went through Michigan and the landscape was fresh on my mind – northern Michigan in particular!
“Reminder”:
I didn’t think much of this song until I did.
“That Rose”:
A song inspired by The Band. This one wrote itself once I got it going.
“I Thought She Was a Song”:
Watching this song unfold in the studio was really fascinating. Jay Bellerose, Patrick Warren, Ross Gallagher, and Joe Henry were all in full swing.
“Petty”:
I had written this a long while back and I’m glad I finally found a home for it.
“Common Ground”:
The song that taught me how to play the harmonica.
“Martin Luther King Jr.”:
Martin Luther King Jr is the hero of all heroes. I need to write this song to remember that love wins.
“Sharp Knife”:
Patrick Warren is amazing. It was a great opportunity to just sing with him and I’m so glad we recorded it this way.
“Wildest Dreams”:
A song that I had written for someone else to sing, initially. When I brought it to the studio, Joe said that I should be the one singing it.
“I Am Both”:
This song had sparked my imagination for some time. The woman that is singing it has a backstory and she is a character that I look up to deeply.
