Tracyanne & Danny

Combining girl group sweetness, classic Brill Building songcraft, sweeping orchestral pop, and intimate lyrical concerns, the duo of Tracyanne & Danny truly took the best elements of their own respective projects on their 2018 self-titled debut album. <a href="spotify:artist:5uWU11VvK7LeQL4HjIE5Rv">Danny</a> is <a href="spotify:artist:5uWU11VvK7LeQL4HjIE5Rv">Danny Coughlan</a>, who released fine, <a href="spotify:artist:0JDkhL4rjiPNEp92jAgJnS">Roy Orbison</a>-inspired music under the name <a href="spotify:artist:2v6qmgdp6qkgePGfG1QOjt">Crybaby</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:320O8dWvLkCppiIvVw0mvn">Tracyanne</a> is <a href="spotify:artist:320O8dWvLkCppiIvVw0mvn">Tracyanne Campbell</a>, the driving force behind one of the most acclaimed indie pop bands of the 2000s, <a href="spotify:artist:5gInJ5P5gQnOKPM3SUEVFt">Camera Obscura</a>.

The two singer/songwriters crossed paths in the early 2010s when <a href="spotify:artist:320O8dWvLkCppiIvVw0mvn">Campbell</a>, impressed by <a href="spotify:artist:2v6qmgdp6qkgePGfG1QOjt">Crybaby</a>'s debut self-titled album from 2012, asked if <a href="spotify:artist:5uWU11VvK7LeQL4HjIE5Rv">Coughlan</a> would open a string of shows for <a href="spotify:artist:5gInJ5P5gQnOKPM3SUEVFt">Camera Obscura</a>. The pair hit it off musically and swapped song ideas with an eye toward collaborating in the future. That idea was put on hold while <a href="spotify:artist:5gInJ5P5gQnOKPM3SUEVFt">Camera Obscura</a> headed to the studio to record their 2013 album Desire Lines, then spent time promoting it. After the tragic death of <a href="spotify:artist:320O8dWvLkCppiIvVw0mvn">Campbell</a>'s bandmate, and best friend, Carey Lander, from cancer in 2015, <a href="spotify:artist:5gInJ5P5gQnOKPM3SUEVFt">Camera Obscura</a> took a break from making music and <a href="spotify:artist:320O8dWvLkCppiIvVw0mvn">Campbell</a> focused on mourning and her family. <a href="spotify:artist:5uWU11VvK7LeQL4HjIE5Rv">Coughlan</a> hadn't forgotten the musical bond they'd formed and he sent her a song idea on a taped-over <a href="spotify:artist:3yY2gUcIsjMr8hjo51PoJ8">Smiths</a>' cassette. She sent back a handwritten note inviting the Bristol-based <a href="spotify:artist:5uWU11VvK7LeQL4HjIE5Rv">Coughlan</a> to visit her in Glasgow and work on the song. One song turned into an album's worth, and the duo decided to record them. Heading to <a href="spotify:artist:5Qlt3zQ63Z99mNhuun0JAT">Edwyn Collins</a>' studio in a remote area of Scotland, they were joined by keyboardist Carwyn Ellis, drummer Stacey Hampson, a string section, a pedal steel player, and the horns of co-producer Sean Read, who'd most recently worked with <a href="spotify:artist:4QTVePrFu1xuGM9K0kNXkk">Dexys Midnight Runners</a>. The other half of the production team was <a href="spotify:artist:5Qlt3zQ63Z99mNhuun0JAT">Collins</a>, and he provided vocals on "Alabama," a touching ode to Lander. The self-titled effort was released by <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Merge%22">Merge</a> in May of 2018 and the duo went on a short two-week tour soon after. ~ Tim Sendra, Rovi