Tift Merritt (from the album Sugar

Tift Merritt (from the album Sugar

Tift Merritt (from the album Sugar on One Riot Records, LLC) (by Danny McCloskey)
 
Artistry, in theory, is following your muse. That is the essence of why a life in the Art of your choice calls you, and why new initiates answer. There are more than a few hurdles that rise in the path, each with a needed decision about how to proceed. The further from the source, belief systems and intentions become more fluid. Career choices are made to compromise for the sake of the hit song while other musicians look at opportunity as a map. The path that Tift Merritt chose removed her from recording for nearly a decade, and after time away, she returns with her recent release, Sugar. Recorded live in Nashville the recording presents an intimate connection between the artist, her songs, and the listener by presenting the tracks as a live performance.
 
The 12-song collection was written over the course of eight years. Gone was the pressure to create, and the storylines reflect a time in the life of Tift Merrit as she experienced both personal and creative transformations. A bright light is shown on Tift Merritt as slow strums began a musician’s audio resume when Tift Merritt opens the album with “Finest Feelings”. The melody matches past reveries that spin the tale in “Mad Mad World” while a somber piano finds the thump of rhythm that guides “Philosopher’s Song” and a tangle of guitar notes sparkle around the relationship dance ending as “Generous”.
 
While the songs and recording have been more organic, Tift Merritt has been busy with artistic endeavors. She is a Practitioner-in-Residence at Duke University, exploring the creative process through various projects and her archival work. Within both her new musical projects and other ambitions, Tift Merritt is human, and she foregoes all of her successes when she focuses on a manageable version of goals, requesting that she wants “Someone to Watch the Band with Me”. Sugar becomes a DIY-guide for life with the experiential advice of “Everyday Singing” as Tift Merritt slowly turns pages in “Library of Dust” and walks with an equally slow trudge in the observations of “Last Ditch Ultimatum”. The Sugar title track plays out on a theatrical stage that shines a solo spotlight hits its lead character as she creates a common ground between artist and audience. (by Danny McCloskey) 
 
Listen and buy the music of Tift Merritt from AMAZON
 
For more information head on over to the Tift Merritt website