The singer, songwriter, producer and bassist's Sylvia Rose Novak's new album A Miss / A Masterpiece is out today - Listen to pro-choice anthem "Stress Fracture"
Photo credit: Maggie Scruggs
Today the singer, songwriter, and bassist Sylvia Rose Novak has released her newest full length album A Miss / A Masterpiece, which takes her sound in a new genre direction inspired by the punk, emo and power-pop she grew up listening to. The album features previously released singles “Man I Used To Be” and “To Ten” as well as “Dizzy”, a cover of the Jimmy Eat World song of the same name. The full album is out today, including the timely pro-choice anthem "Stress Fracture" that leads right into lead single "Man I Used To Be" on the album.
"Stress Fracture" is a rousing and high-energy rock anthem with some subtle but effective lyrics about a woman's right to bodily autonomy perfectly set over power chords and Sylvia's always excellent bass playing. As she delivers the lyric "I feel like I'm ready to break" and the song picks up its pace even faster, the song takes off to a whole other level.
After years of struggling with the “Alt-country” / “Americana” genre label that has followed her for most of her career thus far, she decided to shed those expectations entirely on this new album - the first one that Sylvia has made so far far that she feels truly encapsulates the full person and artist she always knew herself to be, now finally actualized in the music. A Miss / A Masterpiece is Sylvia Rose Novak’s declaration of independence, trading in cowboy boots for her favorite Black Sabbath tank top, black jeans, and a scuffed pair of well-loved motorcycle boots – the look that she should have introduced herself with in the first place.
Describing her inspirations for the album and the mental state she was in when she wrote it, Sylvia said “I think you can hear in this record how desperately I needed to do exactly what I wanted versus what I thought was expected of me. I am my own producer, so the musical and lyrical elements are all from my brain to your ears - and I was feeling cagey - not just because of the pandemic but because of the political climate. This album is basically a sonic diary. The track themes range from nuclear war to reproductive rights - bipolar depression to drug addiction to cancel culture. This is the most personal record I have ever made.”
A Miss A Masterpiece. is available on Spotify, Apple, Soundcloud and can be preordered on vinyl at her website.
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