Today, nearly three years since the release of her critically acclaimed album New Mistakes, soulful rocker Terra Lightfoot shares the new single and video for “Paper Thin Walls” off the upcoming studio album Consider the Speed.
Recorded in Memphis, Tennessee at legendary Royal Studios, the single sees Lightfoot backed by a trio of session heavyweights —drummer Steve Potts, bassist Davy Smith, and keyboardist Lester Snell —produced by Jay Newland (Etta James,
Norah Jones, Esperanza Spalding, Buddy Guy, and countless more) and engineered by Lawrence “Boo” Mitchell. If the single’s loping riff and easy groove suggests the makings of a summer anthem, it delivers a stinging lyric for all seasons.
“I wrote this song about overhearing someone you love sharing some harsh words,” says Lightfoot. “I’ve tried to modulate my reactions to things like that, strived to be calmer in my interactions even when I feel strongly. ‘Paper Thin Walls’ is about having your heart run over by someone who never really comes through.”
Alongside the single, Lightfoot releases a lyric video for the song, directed by Mat Dunlap and featuring performance footage from the tail end of the marathon New Mistakes tour.
Strong, sure-footed and soulful, Terra Lightfoot’s new album Consider the Speed sees the artist finding new roots on the road, and at home in her own skin more than ever before. On this Memphis-recorded session, the acclaimed singer-songwriter-guitarist is in top form, backed by seasoned session ringers and captured by Grammy-winning producer Newland and Grammy-winning engineer Mitchell.
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When Lightfoot initially met the critically acclaimed producer in Connecticut, they quickly bonded over a love for jazz, loud guitars, and CCR. As talk turned toward a working collaboration, Newland initially suggested recording in New York. Lightfoot was on board but at the same time was itching to work at Royal Studios, a legendary mainstay of the Memphis Sound that she had visited while on tour.
In the happiest of coincidences, two weeks before she was scheduled to track, Newland asked if she’d be up for trying out a studio he loved: Royal Studios, a humble South Memphis room that’s plenty legendary. As the home of Hi Records and birthplace of pivotal sessions for Al Green, Chuck Berry, Ann Peebles, Ike & Tina Turner, Buddy Guy, and Keith Richards, it has also given the world innovative albums from De La Soul and Wu-Tang Clan, and even Mark Ronson’s global chart-topper “Uptown Funk” (Additional recording took place at Toronto’s Revolution Studios).
At Royal, Lightfoot was able to connect with this eclectic lineage through the studio’s owner, engineer Boo Mitchell (Mark Ronson, Buddy Guy, John Mayer, North Mississippi Allstars, Ty Segall) and seasoned session players, a trio of drummer Steve Potts (Al Green, Ann Peebles, Otis Clay, Mavis Staples, Buddy Guy, Isaac Hayes, Rufus Thomas), bassist Davy Smith (Kris Kristofferson, Al Green, Rufus Thomas, Wilson Pickett, BB King, John Mayall) and veteran Stax keyboardist Lester Snell (Isaac Hayes, Al Green, Rufus Thomas, Albert King, Mavis Staples, Ann Peebles, Steve Earle, Albert King, Otis Rush, Keith Richards). Consider the Speed finds Lightfoot picking up momentum as the future unfolds before her like a map packed with creative possibilities, and no road a detour.
Consider the Speed is a next-level progression from Lightfoot’s 2017 album New Mistakes. That album was long-listed for the Polaris Music Prize and nominated for a JUNO Award for Best Adult Alternative Album, with its lead single “Paradise” also earning a production nomination as well as a SOCAN #1 Song Award.
The artist’s relentless drive as a touring performer has burned out at least one odometer and earned her the distinction of becoming the first female recipient of the Canadian Independent Music Association’s Road Gold distinction, in recognition of having sold more than 25,000 tickets in Canadian markets in a single calendar year. And in addition to millions of miles logged while touring the globe, including marquee tour dates supporting legendary acts like Willie Nelson, Bruce Cockburn, and Blue Rodeo, Lightfoot also found time to conceive, curate and produce The Longest Road Show, a groundbreaking touring revue.
