Shelby Lynne Gets Real

Marked by sparse, vulnerable performances recorded in an unconventional manner, Shelby Lynne’s forthcoming, self-titled album (out April 17) is unlike any she’s made before. Its genesis came from Lynne’s collaboration with director/screenwriter/lyricist Cynthia Mort to film the currently unreleased independent film When We Kill the Creators, in which Lynne portrays a conflicted artist struggling at the intersection of art and commerce. Several of Shelby Lynne’s tracks were recorded during the filming, while others are featured on both the album and the film itself.

Lynne is the primary musician on most of the tracks, playing guitar, bass, drums, keyboards and saxophone, but a handful of fellow musicians pitch in, including keyboardist Benmont Tench from the Heartbreakers.

“These are eleven songs I love and want to share with the world. They were recorded in very different circumstances at various times, but I think they go together. It’s time to not hide behind the game but put your work out as it is,” notes Lynne. “As an artist, I don’t mind being naked. Everything is so fake, so manufactured these days, I want to get real. It’s the only way to communicate these days.”