Andy Shauf presents "The Party"

He’s a sad-sack Saskatchewanian songwriter who grew up in a tiny town (pop. 919) off the Trans-Canada Highway somewhere between Swift Current and Moose Jaw. His breakthrough albumwas called ‘The Bearer of Bad News’. But don’t feel bad for ANDY SHAUF. Social invitations have been pouring in from Jeff Tweedy, Nick Hornby and Low (for whom he opened two U.S. tours in 2015). Now the self-produced multi-instrumentalist and master of subtlety is ready to invite everyone to ‘The Party,’ his fourth album and first for Anti Records.

‘The Party’ is a series of character sketches, ostensibly set at a specific gathering. It will spawn no hangover regrets for its creator, even if its characters have more than a few. On it, awkward characters show up “Early to the Party,” dance in the living room (“Martha Sways”), and either reveal life-changing secrets (“To You”) or try their hardest to reveal nothing at all (“The Magician”). Fuzzed-out guitars collide with string sections and dreamy synths, all draped over delicate piano, acoustic guitars and rainy-day drums. Oh, and clarinet. For ANDY SHAUF, ‘The Party’ is just getting started.