The Fabulous Truth is an homage to the anti-hero — an eight song suite that explores moral ambiguities, life in the shadows, and the possibility of escape from social expectations. The second full-length album by composer and multi-instrumentalist Eve Essex, The Fabulous Truth is both an ecstatic paean to liberty and an intense look at the psychological prices paid for seeking independence in an unforgiving world.
Drawing on influences as diverse as trip-hop, outlaw country, kosmische, spiritual jazz, avant-garde classical, and—yes—musical theater, Essex sets jewel-like portraits of rebellion against a velvet-black background of stormy electronics and uneasy minimalism. The album treats genre with a freewheeling attitude, and Essex’s confident sound is augmented by musicians including guitarists jenghis and Luke Moldof, and downtown New York music legend Peter Zummo on trombone and euphonium. Intimate lyrics—confessional in tone, literary, striking in their bold mutations of classic songwriting genres—are contrasted with brooding compositions that evoke long journeys across vast landscapes and continents; wagon trains and ship voyages taken in pursuit of a new life, the view from a satellite orbiting the Earth at high speed. The Fabulous Truth is an album about freedom and boundaries, intimacy and security, raising questions about who you let into your life and why.
released June 21, 2024
Music written and produced by Eve Essex
Text by Eve Essex except Orlando, adapted from Virginia Woolf's Orlando
Mastered by Adrian Morgan, Timeless Mastering
Mix and vocal recordings by Al Carlson, Gary’s Electric, Brooklyn, NY
Piano recorded by Jason Borisoff at Conveyor, Brooklyn, NY (4, 7, 8)
Drums recorded by Vishal Nayak at So Percussion Studio, Brooklyn, NY (4, 8)
Band for The Lieutenant Nun recorded by Andrew Sheron at Conveyor, Brooklyn, NY
Piccolo (5) and alto sax (3) recorded live at KAJE, Brooklyn, NY
Cover art by James J.A. Mercer
Design and layout by J. Campolo
Product shots by J. Campolo
Additional design support from Justin Q. Martin
Project management by Kerry Santullo
CAT#: SL021
Performed by Eve Essex (winds, voice, electronics) with:
Francesca Caruso, violin (4, 5, 7, 8)
Dan Fox, bass (6)
Sarah Galdes, drums (4, 8)
Anne Garlid, viola (4, 5, 7, 8) and backup vocals (4, 8)
Lee Gauthier, pedal steel (7)
Max Gordon, piano and organ (4, 6, 7, 8)
Gretta Johnson, backup vocals (4, 8)
Kevin Kenkel, drums (6)
Jenghis Manning-Pettit, guitar (1)
Luke Moldof, guitar (3) and pedal steel (6)
Hazel Rigby, bass (4, 8)
John Swartz, cello (4, 5, 7, 8)
Peter Zummo, trombone, euphonium (8)
https://eveessex.com
https://soaplibrary.net
