I was scrounging around the Asthmatic Kitty website curious to see what Sufjan Stevens had been up to when I stumbled upon the new song "In Summer in the Heat" by Shannon Stephens on her upcoming album The Breadwinner (September 8, 2009). She was the lead singer of Sufjan Stevens' old band Marzuki. Her last album was released in 2000 when she lived in Michigan. Since then, she has domesticated herself in Seattle, WA with her family. After Bonnie "Prince" Billy covered her song "I'll Be Glad" on his album Lie Down in the Light last year, she began writing and recording again in her living room with rented mics. Knowing that she is "the breadwinner" she found "this second album was a real effort. We have a child now and bills to pay- but I think those pressures may have actually made it better." Asthmatic Kitty claims the album's sound as "comfortable and daring at the same time, kind of like one of those late hour over-coffee conversations with a close friend." You can download the beautiful "I'll Be Glad" and "So Gentle Your Arms" off her debut self titled album (2000) from Asthmatic Kitty.
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