The Starlighter cover
I don't want to say that I squealed aloud when news came across my desk that Shawn Colvin was doing an album for kids and families... but I sure squealed silently to myself. Like many others of a certain age, I was a big fan of her 1996 album A Few Small Repairs, and I have a good feeling about her ability to bring tenderness and understanding to an album geared at a younger crowd.
The singer-songwriter announced this week that her next album would be The Starlighter, released exclusively through Amazon Music early next year.
On the album, Colvin returns to Lullabies and Night Songs, a 1960s-era book which featured composer Alec Wilder's arrangements of traditional and children's songs and artwork from Maurice Sendak. Colvin already dipped into the book once for her 1998 holiday album Holiday Songs and Lullabies, and for this new album, she pulls 14 songs from the book.
The leadoff video for the album is for the title track, a hypnotic ballad whose video, based on Victorian paper theatres, matches its dreamlike quality. The layered illustrations and motion design come courtesy of WeFail. It's a lovely work of art, and leads me to high expectations for what's to come.
You can preorder the album here. The Starlighter is released on February 23.
Shawn Colvin - "The Starlighter" [YouTube]
