Steep Canyon Rangers’ Banjoist/Songwriter’s Solo Debut
Set For Release on Yep Roc Records
Truer Picture Available May 7 (Digital) and July 9 (LP/CD)
Watch + Share: “Truer Picture of Me”
Today, Graham Sharp, the singer/banjoist, chief songwriter, and founding member of the GRAMMY-winning Steep Canyon Rangers, shares the video for “Truer Picture of Me,” from his solo debut, Truer Picture. The album’s digital release is set for May 7, with CD and LP to follow July 9, on Yep Roc Records.
Directed and edited by Graham’s son, the video for the album’s second single, “Truer Picture of Me,” is out today. Of the track, Sharp says, “This is a love song. The more I sing it the more it hits me and makes me want to sing it again. It feels like sitting around a fire and being reminded of the spark that lit it and every log that burned down and still keeps us warm. It’s a rare, wonderful freedom to feel understood.”
With a warm, resonant baritone, Truer Picture showcases Sharp’s incredible diversity as a vocalist and writer with a collection of songs all written and sung by him the exact way he intended them to sound. “This record, to me,” says Woody Platt, lead vocalist of Steep Canyon Rangers, “is Graham channeling the music he loves most: writing it, playing it, and singing it all on his own. It’s like a Sunday morning cup of coffee with Don Williams, a late-night tour bus ride with Terry Allen, or an afternoon with John Hartford.”
Produced and mixed by Sharp and Seth Kauffman (Floating Action, Courtney Jaye, Shannon Whitworth), the album was recorded at Kauffman’s Black Mountain, NC studio and mastered by Chris Boerner at The Kitchen in Carrboro, NC. Sharp and Kauffman played all the instruments for the session, except for Matt Smith on pedal steel.
As the world entered lockdown in 2020, the Asheville, NC-based Sharp drew inspiration from a wellspring of emotions. Tackling feelings of isolation on “Come Visit My Island” to addressing political unrest on “My Neighborhood,” Sharp’s unique style of songwriting is ever-present on the Prine-esque songs “North Star” and “Coming Back to Life.” The lush instrumentation on “Deeper Family,” which features harmony vocals from The War on Drugs’ David Hartley, illustrates the stark sonic differences between Sharp’s solo work and his music with Steep Canyon Rangers.
Truer Picture Tracklisting:
1. Truer Picture of Me
2. Generation Blues
3. Love Yourself
4. North Star
5. Bad Apple
6. Deeper Family
7. Why We Explode
8. My Neighborhood
9. Coming Back to Life
10. Come Visit My Island
Pre-order the album here.