Veronica Swift - This Bitter Earth

MACK AVENUE

£13

Cat. no: MAC1177
Format: CD
Barcode: 673203117723
Release Date: 19th March 2021
Genre: Jazz

Veronica Swift flips the script on This Bitter Earth, the captivating follow-up to her 2019 Mack Avenue Records debut, Confessions. Whereas Confessions played out like pages from her personal diary, on the new album, the 27-year-old singer and master song interpreter looks outward while addressing social ills that plague the world today.

This Bitter Earth takes on the song-cycle characteristics of such classic LPs as Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On, Kate Bush’s Hounds of Love, and Mary J. Blige’s My Life. For her album, Swift tackles sexism [“How Lovely to Be a Woman”], domestic abuse [“He Hit Me (And It Felt Like a Kiss)”], racism/ xenophobia [“You’ve Got to Be Carefully Taught”] and the dangers of fake news [“The Sports Page”].

Accompanied by a team of kindred spirts that includes pianist Emmet Cohen, guitarist Armand Hirsch and flutist Aaron Johnson, bassist Yasushi Nakamura, and drummer Bryan Carter, Swift curates material that covers multiple genres, including jazz, American musicals, vintage R&B and contemporary rock.

Tracks: This Bitter Earth / How Lovely To Be A Woman / You’ve Got To Be Carefully Taught / Getting To Know You / The Man I Love / You’re The Dangerous Type / Trust In Me / He Hit Me (And It Felt Like A Kiss) / As Long As He Needs Me / Everybody Has The Right To Be Wrong / Prisoner Of Love / The Sports Page / Sing