Sara Rachele

This song couldn't have been released as anything other than a single. A full-length album would collapse under the plaintive, heartbreaking weight of Sara Rachele's "Rebecca," and picking songs to cushion it in a track list would be nearly impossible.

Songs We Love
The Decatur, Ga. singer-songwriter's pure, rootsy voice has a thick twang and deep vulnerability that garner immediate trust — which is vital before following her into the tangle of emotions her narrator feels after having an abortion. In range and rhythm, this is not a complicated vocal performance. But she is masterful in the myriad ways her singing envelops the nuance and intensity needed to tell this story.

The song was recorded solo, while Rachele sat in the grass outside the Danielsville, Ga. studio where she recorded the other track on her Madison County single. The rustles and chirps around her act as a response and a bolster. She sings about being lost in memory and "what ifs," but all around her, life goes on.

Madison County is out now on Angrygal Records. - NPR

The Atlanta-via-Brooklyn singer/songwriter puts a shoegaze spin on the '90s alt-rock classic

Cracker’s 1993 modern rock smash “Low” was already a pretty slow and slinky number by post-grunge standards, but Atlanta-via-Brooklyn Sara Rachele has taken it one step further with her sublime new cover of the song. Winding the groove down to a crawl, expanding singer David Lowery’s smoky lead vocal into a multi-tracked swoon and expanding the rains of echoing guitar into a veritable monsoon (courtesy of new bandmate Nicholas Ryan), Rachele’s rendition sounds like a beautifully hazy memory of the original, or an alternate history in which the most famous version of “Low” was performed by Mazzy Star. Not a bad “What if?,” really.

Listen to the cover below, which will be the A-side of Rachele’s new Kris Sampson-produced 7″ single, out April 21.

By Andrew Unterberger
April 6 2015 - SPIN

Throughout the history of pop music, certain styles come & go. But some are perennial, such as the classic, melodramatic girl-group sound, maybe best typified by the Shangri-Las or the Chiffons, but running the whole gamut, from the Slits to the Raveonettes, Luscious Jackson, Lana Del Rey, the Judds, Vivian Girls and even Josie and the Pussycats! One of the latest practitioners is Georgia-born singer/songwriter Sara Rachele and her trio, the Skintights, whose new self-released full-length, Motel Fire, will be released on July 15. Now based in LA, they share an advance track from the album, “How Does It Feel Like (to Lose?),” which we are pleased to premiere for you! - KCRW Radio

This has been a weird December for New Yorkers: warm weather, heavy mist, darkly cloudy skies. Forecasts predict a Christmas nearing 70° and no snow until mid-January. That makes Sara Rachele’s “Merry Christmas Baby” the answer when your family asks you to put on music this week — or, if you’re a Christmas orphan, just the thing to listen to alone on Friday morning.

Rachele’s new track is a reverb-drenched, macabre take on saccharine winter classics that deserves play even when the snow melts; it might be about Christmas, but with its heavy haze, psych guitars, and Rachele’s slow-burn croon, it could easily soundtrack a heady, humid beach bender, too. The track is darker than Rachele’s earlier (and equally good) output, which shares the same retro stylings but often opts for a cleaner pop sound. The progression into thicker effects suits her voice, which floats through the more complex production without sounding out of place or getting lost in the fuzz.

Unsurprisingly, Rachele draws comparisons to Julee Cruise, whose memorable appearance on Twin Peaks defined their shared brand of surreal doo-wop-inflected ballads. But Rachele’s is an updated version that takes its roots a little more seriously, and one well worth catching live when she plays Rockwood Music Hall on December 30. Whether or not she plays this song post-25th is up to her, but either way it’s a gift for anyone who prefers unsettling chills over shiny holiday spirits. Listen to Sara Rachele’s “Merry Christmas Baby” below. - Village Voice

Sara Rachele spent the beginnings of her career as a singer songwriter in Atlanta, playing small clubs in the city before moving up to New York. She calls both cities home now, releasing her debut full-length Diamond Street in 2014 and recently announcing a follow up 7” single, Low, for later this month. Produced by Kristofer Sampson (B-52s, Coathangers), the release will feature a cover of Cracker’s “Low” along with a solo acoustic take on her song “Strong As My Hands (Delilah),” recorded live to tape. Listen to “Strong As My Hands (Delilah)” in the player above. The record is set for release on April 21. For more from Rachele, check out her Daytrotter session.

By Dacey Orr
April 9 2015 - Paste Magazine

The Artist: Sara Rachele with J Thomas Hall
The Song: “Don’t Give Me Hell” from Diamond Street, out September 2
Fun Fact: Originally from Decatur, GA, Rachele spent her teenage years as a keyboardist and background singer in The Love Willows before relocating to New York.
Songwriter Says: “When you end up in a relationship, there are those places you go together. We all have them—whether it’s a favorite coffeeshop, dive bar, book store, record shop, whatever. You develop these strong associations between that person in your life and that particular place. Of course, when things end, it can be difficult to go back—to the point where, sometimes, you feel compelled to give that place up. My new album Diamond Street is a collection of all those places and shared moments—both precious and dirty—that we revisit in our minds.

I wrote ‘Don’t Give Me Hell’ about a relationship like this—one that never really definitively ended but just kind of faded into the distance. It’s the most haunting song for me on the record. It’s that moment where you say to yourself, ‘I could let this go, or I could give it one more try.’ It’s a thread that runs through Diamond Street, this kind of Goffin/King ‘Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow’ sentiment.

When I went into the studio in Atlanta to record the song, I played it for producer Kris Sampson [of Ponderosa], and the rest of the guys playing on the session. The idea was that the arrangement would be full-band, like most of the other songs on the record. Like, you have the musicians there, you ought to use ‘em. My drummer, Chandler Rentz, felt it first, though—when he heard me play the song, he immediately said, ‘OK, no drums.’ By that point, it was 3 a.m., and Kris and all the guys came into the tracking room and started harmonizing on the song with me.

But when we finished and listened back to what we’d recorded, we realized that having a group of people singing on such a lonely song just didn’t feel right. I wrote the song about showing up in the middle of the night on my boyfriend’s stoop off Graham Avenue in East Williamsburg, and even though the more fleshed-out version was cool, we realized that the song would translate best as a sparse duet.

So the next day, my friend JT [J Thomas Hall] came over, we sat down, set up some mics in a bedroom and recorded it sitting there facing each other. In two takes, it was done. JT and I have known each other for a while, and it just came out very effortless and natural. He wrote one of my favorite songs, ‘What Heartache’s All About.’ [which premiered last September at American Songwriter].

With ‘Don’t Give Me Hell,’ though—most of us have had that moment, where you show up late to have a State of the Union kind of conversation with your significant other, and you’re standing out there under the moonlight (or in my case, the streetlights), and your senses are heightened because you’re unsure of how it’s all gonna go down—you’re unsure whether the one you love will let you in. And if it ultimately doesn’t work out—if you both end up going your separate ways, down the road, you wonder about it all from time to time. About all the might-have-beens.” - American Songwriter

NYC/Atlanta based Sara Rachele will be releasing her debut album Diamond Street on September 2nd. Recorded in her hometown of Atlanta, Diamond Street is a live-to-tape LP—produced by Kristofer Sampson (B-52s, Balkans, Coathangers). The LP was recorded in just two days, and captures the East Village nightlife of a young songwriter in a timeless, vibrant rock ’n’ roll statement.

On recording with producer Sampson (who plays in New West Records band Ponderosa), Rachele says, “Kris really challenged me on this album. Even though we were working quickly, he had patience with the songs, and he took the sound to a new place for me without it seeming disingenuous.”

In addition to producer Sampson, Diamond Street features the musical contributions of budding folk hound J. Thomas Hall (New West imprint Normaltown Records) as well as a cast of Atlanta-based heavy hitters including Lightnin’ Ray Jackson (Washed Out, Gringo Star), Spencer Pope (Ocha La Rocha), Spencer Garn (Ruby Velle & the Soulphonics) and Snowden’s Chandler Rentz. Diamond Street represents the gorgeous clash of Rachele’s folk-centric upbringing and her beat rock & roll adventures in New York City. With five years of stories under her belt, she has created a moody musical pulp, resounding with smoky memories of ambling city nights.

“I think the strangeness of my work is what makes people get it,” Rachele says. “We all have these stories, but where I grew up, we were always throwing furniture around the house, emotionally. Like a lot of people, I got intensified in New York, so I just started writing—to keep sane.”

In anticipation of the new release, Glide is proud to premiere “Appalachian Rain,” from Diamond Street. The track bristles with an incisive edge floating aside a picturesque melody courtesy of a voice that has just enough twang to rope you in for an extended visit… - Glide Magazine

This was one of those weeks where I felt like I might have just listened to someone who’s going to become one of my favorite artists of all-time, for the very first time. I’d heard Luke Bell’s name a few times over the last month—first on a text chain with Roman Candle/Big Light’s Logan Matheny and then as an aside by Cale Tyson—but I hadn’t listened to him until today. I was knocked completely for a loop. He’s absolutely phenomenal, and it’s the kind of country songwriting that is instantly timeless. He sounds flawless, and I cannot wait to see him live. I might be paying Nashville a visit sooner than I thought. In addition to Luke, here are some other gems discovered this week: American Wrestlers (holy smokes!), Young Rising Sons, Ryn Weaver, The Soundmen, Low Roar, Sara Rachele, Nicholas Krgovich (thanks to Owen Ashworth of Advance Base/Casiotone and Orindal Records), Noah and the Megafauna, Crybabycry, The Hunts, Land Lines and Modern Vices. Now go and have yourself a week! - Paste Magazine

Sara Rachele is more than a contemporary coffee house folkie crossed with deep-in-the groove rocker and her new single/video proves it.

“You Don’t Move Me” is a reverbed slice of retro girl-group pop layered over emotionalennui. Director Paul Bray shot the video in sumptuous muted hues at an empty Plaza Theatre in her native Atlanta, GA.
Sara Rachele took time away from her busy schedule to answer a few questions.

Twang Nation: Being from Georgia, there’s a discernible Southern-Quality to your storytelling. How has moving to New York shaped your songwriting?

Sara Rachele: Ironically, moving to Manhattan brought out the southern-ness in my writing – I found it’s the thing I identify with most in the South – is the stories, the folklore. I come from a long line of southern women with big imaginations and even bigger mouths. New York has so many different kinds of folks – the Italian side of my family came through Ellis Island – and I relate to that too.

I think I stuck out as the southern writer of my friends – It just was kind of innately in what I do – in my physiology or something, I just started to stick out for being plain spoken, and I liked that.

TN:You’ve said “Diamond Street” is a result of dealing with loss. While making that album was the loss easier or harder to deal with?

SR:I guess that’s the thing about writers – I definitely always try to tell whatever my truth is, even if it doesn’t paint me in the best light. With Diamond Street – There were a couple years of pent up realizations, expository realizations, I really needed to hash out – It’s probably more confessional that it should be – But that is the thing that heals me, and I think a lot of people, about music. We get to realize that a lot of people have too gone through something similar. I met producer Trina Shoemaker once, and she just came up after a set and said ‘It doesn’t ever go away. But you get better at dealing with it.’ I like to think she’s right.

- See more at: http://www.twangnation.com/2015/02/19/watch-out-sara-rachele-you-dont-move-me-video-interview/#sthash.de4P7I7x.dpuf - Twang Nation

Recorded in her hometown of Atlanta, the NYC-based Sara Rachele‘s debut, Diamond Street, rides out slow and dark as a jet-black 1960s Chrysler New Yorker. The live-to-tape LP—produced by Kristofer Sampson (B-52s, Balkans, Coathangers)—was recorded in just two days, and captures the East Village nightlife of a young songwriter in a timeless, vibrant rock ’n’ roll statement. Diamond Street’s sparkling lo-fi charms span the decades, Rachele channeling everything from classic Fleetwood Mac and Petty’s Heartbreakers to Lucinda Williams and David Lynch muse Julee Cruise.
On recording with producer Sampson (who plays in New West Records band Ponderosa), Rachele says, “Kris really challenged me on this album. Even though we were working quickly, he had patience with the songs, and he took the sound to a new place for me without it seeming disingenuous.”
TheBlueIndian.com is pleased to debut the track “Black Mile” from her new album. The album was released Tuesday, September 2nd. Enjoy! - The Blue Indian

FTM doesn't usually post this sort of thing (and we get quite a few requests), but I really like this tune and the sounds of the record it's on. Sara Rachele (pronounced Ra-kelly) is a singer-songwriter in the vein of Lydia Loveless, Lucinda Williams, and Neko Case. There's also an atmospheric, indie quality to her approach a la Mazzy Star. You can read some quotes and her bio below and check out the premiere of her song "Strong As My Hands (Delilah)" right here. It's also available to download for free! I think you'll dig it.

Sara's forthcoming album, Diamond Street, is out September 2 - Farce the Music

NYC-by-way-of-Atlanta-based singer-songwriter Sara Rachele is set to release her debut record Diamond Street on Angrygal Records this coming September 2, 2014. It’s a live-straight-to-tape recording, which is an impressive feat itself on your debut record, not to mention they managed to put down all eight tracks and two bonus tracks in just two days. That’s always a sure sign of confidence and artistry. But, put that together with some of Atlanta’s finest musicians and you’ve got a bad-ass rock album. Vocally, she’s a glorious amalgamation of Neko Case and Lydia Loveless with a smattering of Harriet Wheeler (The Sundays). For those of us still reeling from Lydia’s last effort, Diamond Street will satisfy that void.

Out of the gate, Rachele (pronounced Ra-kelly) wastes not a moment to let you know the direction this record is heading. “Devil That I Know” is a raw rocker, complete with sultry lyrics and crafty organ work. It’s an immediate introduction to the rawness of the album, produced by Kristofer Sampson and recorded in Atlanta at the studio that the record was named after, Diamond Street Studios. Completely transparent from the start that the record was recorded live -- directly to tape, how they always made records before digital was introduced -- it successfully captures all that energy and sets the tone nicely. Just as you're waiting for a power chord to kick off track two, she’s back with “You Don’t Move Me,” a soul-tinged hypnotic gem that could easily be found on a Blue Note B-side. Diamond Street follows no roadmap. It's Rachele’s heart and soul, and her confidence permeates through the speakers. She’s truly a throwback when it comes to songcrafting, in both writing and delivery. She can sound every bit a sultry, country crooner and come right back with a balls-out rock song. It’s a fine collection of well-crafted songs. The musicians have a damn good time playing music together, and it shows.

I’m truly honored to be premiering the first of two bonus tracks on Diamond Street: “Judas”, a gritty, folky number that showcases Rachele’s vocals. It’s coincidentally one of my favorite cuts on the record and a fine taste of what the album is filled with. There’s not a doubt in my mind that we’ll hear a great deal more from Sara Rachele in the future. It’s truly an impressive debut full-length record and an Americana community “must have." You get a dose of everything you need in a record: some rock, country, soul, blues, folk, and those sweet sad songs. Without further rambling, I’m pleased to premiere Sara Rachele’s, “Judas” at the link below…Enjoy! - Sad Songs Keep the Devil Away

Sara Rachele consistently knocks it out of the park, so it wouldn't be that interesting for me to say that this album is amazing. Rachele is an artist who always pushes her boundaries and exceeds herself with every subsequent release. What I will say, though, is that April Fool, which is out tomorrow, is an out-of-the-park grand slam with two outs in the ninth. Also, I highly recommend you listen to it with headphones. A good engineer doesn't want the production values to be a distraction, of course, but the production on April Fool is noticeable: intimate and organic. You're not just in the room with the band; you're enveloped in their music.

"Cosmic country" has been thrown a lot, especially since Sturgill's last record. I find it to be synonymous with the term "graphic novel" -- a spurious distinction between a popular (and populist) genre and something with more "serious" artistic merit. In this case, though, Rachele exemplifies what it can truly mean: songs that rely on the earthiness of folk songwriting while gently collapsing sonic boundaries. Rachele proves throughout the album that she can comfortably inhabit multiple spaces. The campfire-style "Keep on the Sunnyside of Life" juxtaposed with what I believe is the album's standout, "When It Rains in Paris," a spacious ode to loneliness, proves Rachele's versatility as a singer and mastery of songwriting.

You can stream the whole album by hitting play, or click through to the Soundcloud page to skip around between songs. (But, like, why? Just sit back and enjoy.) - No Depression

chardson”
Sara Rachele’s last album ‘Scorpio Moon’ had a richly layered augmented band sound, but the follow up ‘Scorpio Sun’ which is due out this year has ripped up that design and started afresh with the emphasis on the raw, the personal and the stripped back. It means that there’s nothing between the listener and the song, just the rawness laid out in full view.

There’s no holding back on ‘Terry Richardson‘, a song inspired by moving in two artistic crowds – a hedonistic one in LA in the Eighties and Nineties and a more genuinely creative crowd later on in Paris. It’s a reflection on the abuse of power across the entertainment industry, which has seen Sara Rachele muse about the line between creative genius and toxicity. In the song she queries whether “this is beginning to be funny to you / it must be / watching me score watching me wait and wait / … / there’s no way you care there’s no way there’s any caring in there“.

Speaking of the song Sara Rachele has described what she was aiming to catch, saying “Not every career endures, but the myth does. And I’m interested in what happens then. What’s interesting to me is how far we can push the allure of art, the darkness, the myth of the twisted painter, and the tortured artist. What’s after that? This is about the manipulation of the artistic and mystical ones who wander around us; it’s about trying to remain true to your artistic vision with misogyny abound.

This song is also partly about the male gaze, but also about how easy it is to get swept up in the twister of vanity. It is a little bit about my boyfriend, and it is a little bit about trying to thrive or exist in a male-dominated industry. There is a mystical hierarchy consisting of the flaneur, the wanderer, the troubadour or what have you.

So many lines blur. What is right and wrong, and what is for the sake of the art? What is for the sake of the next high, or recognition? If we lose ourself for the sake of the art or the scene, were we ever really anyone to begin with? The dated and terrifying nature of the world in which we create, directly impacted this album. Just getting in and out of my own life, I see horrifying behaviour which is often romanticized or glorified (and normalized) in the metropolis. It is the smog around us we breathe. I’m definitely guilty of participating in it – riding along beside it, driving it and saying nothing while the car fills with smoke – but this song is my attempt to crack the window.“

Painfully direct and with no easy out to a happy ending, it’s a song that once heard stays with you. - Americana UK

In follow-up to her 2019 release Scorpio Moon, indie/Americana artist Sara Rachele (pronounced “ra-kelly”) is set to release her new album Scorpio Sun, on June 5, 2020. Whilst described as a sister album, sonically it’s far removed from the complexity of her previous offering, instead, delivering a stripped-back affair, she provides ample room for her lyrics to shine through.



Therein lies one of its jewels, those songs… captivating lyrics bolstered by her recent work ethic (a low-residency MFA in poetry at New York University). Needless to say, her delivery is equally poignant, raw and moving as can be heard on her new single Dead Squirrel in the Tractor Pool (also our Song of the Day), the first of her poems that she’s translated into music, on which she shares the following:



“Dead Squirrel…This song is an Ars Poetica to the music industry, for sure. I’ve been in shows since I was a kid, and sometimes it’s hard to know which way is up. Who are your friends? What does success look like? What is up, and what is down?



“When I first started playing music, professionally, it was 2007 and Grace Potter’s This Is Somewhere had just come out (my friend Mike Daly produced this — full disclosure), and ‘Falling or Flying’ was a song that I became obsessed with; I think it really foreshadowed (for me) how the industry can be, both personally and professionally. The Squirrel song is where I am now, as an adult in the music industry, and Grace really wasn’t wrong. It’s tough out there at every level of show biz. Money and merit and heart and gall, and it’s all still full of truth and fluff.



“Sometimes it’s hard to tell – like trying to survive an avalanche (experts say to spit, so you can tell which way is up). The industry has been a bit like that for me. Sometimes when you feel as light as air, you’re bound to fall, eventually. And often the things that look the best, really aren’t. This is a song about hard work. It’s about what I was brought up to do. Sure, it’s about drowning and how I accidentally set a trap for an unsuspecting critter in my Georgia garden… It’s also about my life, how it’s unfolding, and a song about the corporate meritocracy. As Grace says, ‘I guess we’ll never know, striking rock, or hitting gold.'”



Sara’s bio describes how the music scene has been such a large part of her life: She grew up a studio rat and folk child. Working for free, cleaning out the cupboards at famed Atlanta acoustic hotspot Eddie’s Attic, she met countless musicians and writers and fell into bands as a side player before she’d even written a song of her own.



Throughout her new album, she reflects on both the changing music industry “the destruction of traditional music and distribution platforms”, as well as reflecting on the personal journey of the artist “where inspiration for true art comes from and why it can sometimes dissipate”, as well as the darker side of the industry and the “abuse by those in power across the entertainment industry”. An album that deserves to be heard… - Folk Radio: your folk & roots bread and butter

Sara Rachele is "almost done" with her third album, which she hopes to release this fall. But "Scorpio Moon," the sole track completed for the set so far -- and premiering below -- is so strong she didn't want to wait to have people hear it.

"I'm really proud of it," the singer-songwriter, who resides in a 1979 Airstream Bus, tells Billboard. The song was inspired by a friend's troubled romantic situation but became "a warning song against mistakes and not heeding warnings -- and if we have any choice at all in the matter," according to Rachele. She recorded it, and most of the album's other songs, in Brooklyn with Binky Griptite and other members of the Dap-Kings, co-producing it with keyboardist Spencer Garn.

"I generally record straight to tape and it's fun because that kind of freaks out players of every caliber," Rachele says. "But I knew these guys knew what to do. It was like getting to drive a really fast car and you put it in gear and it ends up doing its own thing. When I got there I went into the bathroom and looked at myself and thought, 'You can't screw this up. Get it together! This is your job, go in there and do it!' But it turned out to be really a pleasure."

Rachele has done additional recording in Los Angeles and East Atlanta Village, where she resides, and hopes to release the album this fall. "Scorpio Moon" is indicative of the rest of the material, she says, likening it to "Dusty Springfield with a little bit of a Southern drawl" but also a contemporary attitude that makes it more than retro or nostalgic.

"It's a little bit of a throwback," Rachele acknowledges, "but I hope it's not too stuck in something that's been done previously. It's definitely going to have a '60s vibe, but really I'm just trying to do the best I can. I have a really high standard, but there are mistakes in the recordings and often times the most beautiful art comes from the mistakes, and that can be the most interesting parts of the record for me. And I think the people I work with feel the same way." - Billboard