Abram Shook - Love At Low Speed (2017)

"Austin-based musician Abram Shook is a remarkable wellspring of ideas when it comes to songwriting. When he sat down to write his third album, he produced two distinct batches of songs, one very personal collection titled Love at Low Speed, and a darker, more detached collection titled Love in the Age of Excess. Due to time and money constraints, he opted to only record the more personal album, which explores themes of love, loss, and connecting with others. Writing the album directly coincided with some pretty big changes in my life, mainly the ending of an 11 year relationship."

Love at Low Speed proves that Shook has plenty to offer on these topics, and that he's at his best when he digs deep, mining his years of experience for confessional tales peppe red with hard-wrought wisdom. Inspired by the unique worlds of sound David Bowie created throughout his career, Shook and close collaborators Christopher Cox and Grant Johnson kept the album's production focussed from beginning to end. A touchstone album for me has always been Club Da Esquinha (Milton Nascimento / Lo Borges). It explores multiple genres but filters everything through the same beautiful production arrangements which lends to its cohesion. Throughout Love at Low Speed the world of sound they created balances Shook's tender tenor with sensual bass grooves, and strings provided by Austin's Tosca String Quartet. "Settling down in Austin for a longer period of time has allowed me to establish a rich community of peers to draw from for influence and support. With time comes trust, and I've learned to give over some control to others in hopes to gain a perspective on songwriting that I might normally overlook."