While band press bios are notoriously embellished, Fitzgerald’s is refreshingly short and sweet: “Nathan and Mandy Tensen-Woolery are the husband and wife duo Fitzgerald; the two have been creating music together for more than a decade.” The only point in the bio that feels forced is when it labels their music “indie folk,” which the writer put in quotes as if questioning the description. Nate and Mandy, who met me at a Seward coffee shop on a rainy afternoon, did the same. “I think we were trying to shake the ‘folk’ for a long time,” Mandy said. “Not that folk is bad, but it wasn’t really the direction we wanted to head.”
Their 2024 Records debut, “Light A Match And Watch It Burn,” was largely acoustic, their new record, “Raised By Wolves”, is a collection of songs using acoustic guitar as a starting point giving way to strings, clarinet and the drumsticks of local musician Martin Dosh. The record’s diverse sound is the creation of co-producers and labelmates Darren Jackson and Erik Appelwick. The result is an ambitious, lovely record that sounds both familiar and original.
Nate said an eclectic sound was the idea from the start. “We went into it having a very clear idea of the sound we wanted,” he said. The first album, we kept more sparse. After recording it and learning a bit more how a studio works, we knew the next album we did, we wanted to have a much larger sound,” he said.
Mandy agreed. “Even when the songs were brand new, I remember you saying things like, ‘just picture in the background, a cello doing this’.”
Fitzgerald’s songs are striking for their juxtaposition of pretty melodies and tumultuous lyrics. “The fact that the music is the way it is and the lyrics are dark, it’s a little jolting. I like that play. That’s nothing new by any means, but I kind of like the effect it has,” Nate said.
Case in point is “Bloody Stumps,” a track both delicate and disturbing it starts with a gentle acoustic guitar line and the lyrics: “You can’t hate me/nearly as much as I hate your cigarette smoke.” Moments later, Mandy sings: “I think you should cut your hands off, wave your bloody stumps around.”
“I heard Tom Waits say once, describing his songs, that he likes ‘beautiful music about horrible things,’” Nate said. “I thought it was interesting. I don’t know if I’d quite agree to such an extreme for every song I write, but it happens.”
Their audience is noticing, too. “Bloody Stumps” has earned more praise than any other song on the record. Its catchy melody has reached a more diverse fan base as well. “Somebody just e-mailed me a few weeks ago saying their seven-year-old always sings it in the back of the car,” Nate said.
The band plays live regularly and works to recreate the album’s sound in concert. Arranging the songs for two-person shows is a challenge, since the songs were originally recorded with clarinets, sleigh bells and drummer Dosh. “He was amazing,” Nate said, “compared to Dosh’s body of work, this was probably a piece of cake for him, just to come in and play these rhythmically fairly simple songs.”
When asked what’s next for Fitzgerald, Nate and Mandy exchanged glances. “We’ve got new songs, and I’m excited about them because it seems they’re more program heavy, with programmed beats and sounds,” Mandy said. “I’m hoping that’s the direction the new stuff will go.” She slowly looked at her husband and laughed, “but we haven’t discussed it.”
“We have a ton of new songs,” Nate said, “but I think what we’ll probably really focus on next is playing outside Minnesota. Our hope is to be heard by as many people as we can.”
Referring to the inexplicable youth appeal of “Bloody Stumps,” Mandy offered another possible career move. “We could do a children’s album. We’ll be up there with Raffi,” she said. She was kidding, but both she and Nate had a look in their eyes suggesting: why not?
It’s an attitude that’s served them well so far and bodes well for the future.
www.fitzgeraldmusic.com |
