When she sings, “A mercury sky, a mercury sea / A mercury love inside of me” she’s revealing that which changes like quicksilver in her. As a literary convention, Pieta uses it with great effect in the title track. Mercury is unique in the periodic table of elements in that it is the only metal which is liquid in the Earth’s atmospheric conditions. While I usually don’t expect her album covers to directly represent the album, the cover to Mercury elicited a pause before hitting ‘play.’ The unusual lighting from beneath nearly washes out her face drawing you almost self-consciously to her gaze. 27 on Red House Records) carries a certain “Mona Lisa” inscrutability. "It's exciting to hear such quiet mastery of a genre.The monochrome photo of Pieta Brown on the cover of her album Mercury (out Sept. "It's exciting to hear such quiet mastery of a genre." - Bust Carey, followed by multiple experimental collaborations since with various artists including JT Bates, S.Carey, CARM, and Howe Gelb & The Colorist Orchestra, Pieta’s music and artistry continue to rise. With the release of her most recent album Freeway (September 2019, Righteous Babe) co-produced by Bon Iver drummer, S. In the last few years Pieta’s songs and music have been heard in various TV Shows and indie films including Everything Will Be Fine (Wim Wenders). ![]() She has co-written songs with and made recent guest appearances on albums by Calexico, Amos Lee, and Iris Dement. In recent years Pieta has released multiple highly critically acclaimed albums, with much attention being paid not only to her distinct sound and style, but also the power of her singing and songwriting, including fan favorite, Paradise Outlaw (2014 Red House, which Bon Iver master mind, Justin Vernon, called his “favorite recording made at our studio.”) Pieta has toured North America with Mark Knopfler, and toured various regions of the U.S., Australia and Canada with John Prine, Amos Lee, Brandi Carlisle, JJ Cale, Ani Difranco, Mavis Staples, and Calexico among others. "I grew up around a lot of musicians and artists living on the fringe, and have always felt most at home among them," Pieta says.Ĭontinually revealing new layers as both a songwriter and performer, Pieta is being recognized as one of modern Americana's true gems. Emerging from a disjointed and distinctly 'bohemian' upbringing, Pieta began performing live and making independent recordings soon after teaching herself how to play guitar. In her early 20's, after experiencing what she describes as "the songs calling,” Pieta started experimenting with the banjo and eventually picked up a 1930's Maybell arch-top guitar during a visit to her father's place and never looked back. By the time she left home at 18 she had lived in at least 19 different houses and apartments between Iowa and Alabama. Later, while living with her mother in Birmingham, Alabama during her formative years, Pieta drew on and expanded these influences and began writing poems and composing instrumental songs on piano. There, she was exposed to traditional and rural folk music through her father, Greg Brown, the now beloved Midwestern folk singer. The daughter of two preacher’s kids, Pieta Brown’s early upbringing in Iowa was in a rural outpost with no furnace, running water, or TV. ![]() "A style and a sensuality that’s all her own."- Pop Matters "A gifted singer-songwriter whose lyrics are pieces of polished poetry" - Huffington Post " She has that kind of voice.intimate, raw, enveloping." - Chicago Reader
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