Abby Sage Releases Debut Album ‘The Rot’
March 1, 2024 BY Bailey Vigliaturo
Today, Toronto-born and Los Angeles-based alternative sensation, Abby Sage, releases her awaited debut album, The Rot’ via Nettwerk. Named as a Spotify Lorem 2024 Artist to Watch, Sage captivates audiences with a distinctive sound and enchanting aesthetic that lays the foundation for her promising journey as a rising indie star.
A deeply personal, intensely confessional work of art, The Rot primes Sage’s spot as a promising force in the future of indie music. Throughout the album, Sage takes listeners on a journey of her inner thoughts, wit, and observation, fostering a strong connection and openness between her and her audience. As seen in previously released album singles “Milk,” “Hunger,” “Obstruction,” and “Soak,” Sage thrives in finding the harmony between arrestingly honest prose and stripped-back melodies. In a relatively short time span, she has garnered high praise from outlets such as Rolling Stone, NME, NYLON, Ones To Watch, CLASH, The Line of Best Fit, BBC Radio, and Atwood Magazine.
Now with 10 all-new original songs in her arsenal, The Rot was made in collaboration with London-based production team MyRiot aka Roy Kerr and Tim Bran (who worked on Sage’s 2022 The Florist EP), and Michael Coleman in LA. It’s a lush, layered alternative pop gem where Sage’s silky vocals kaleidoscopically twirl overtop dreamy synth-and-guitar melodies. Plunging new emotional depths, Sage uses The Rot as a lens to dig into her relationship with sex, anxiety around her own health, raw moments of loneliness, and, ultimately, accepting that change is inevitable.
“‘The Rot’ album focuses on the decomposition and reconstruction of everything I was taught growing up,” shares Sage. “It’s choosing what to take as truth and what to rebuild in my mind to fit what I now believe. I wanted ‘The Rot’ to cover a pretty long span of time. I felt it was important to address what shaped my childhood, what shapes me now, and everything in between. It’s what I carry with me and what I choose to let go. I think rotting is a perfect visual for this process because of the cyclical nature. Things rot and then something new grows because of it, like ideas and values.”
Throughout the album cycle, Sage has incorporated handmade paper mache creatures into the album’s visuals, adding a new arresting creative layer to the project. “I wanted to make body parts that represent the meaning of each song,” she explains. “Ultimately when combined, they create this larger-than-life beast creature that I ultimately surrender to. The individual body parts are lessons, while the full beast and my surrender is a reaction to those lessons.
The release of The Rot primes 2024 to be a truly monumental year for Sage. In addition to releasing her debut album, she is confirmed to perform at Salt Lake City’s Kilby Block Party on May 10th and is embarking on a run of headline shows in the United States, Europe, and the United Kingdom. Fans can purchase tickets HERE, and a full list of dates can be found below.
Abby Sage Tour Dates
May 06 – Los Angeles, CA – El Cid
May 08 – San Francisco, CA – Cafe Du Nord
May 10 – Salt Lake City, UT – Kilby Block Party
May 12 – Brooklyn, NY – Baby’s All Right
May 18 – Brussels, BE – Witloof Bar
May 21 – Berlin, DE – Lark
May 23 – Paris, FR – Le POPUP Du Label
May 24 – London, UK – The Lower Third
The Rot Tracklisting:
1. Milk
2. Three Floors, Three Doors
3. Jude
4. Phantom Arm
5. Hunger
6. Soak
7. Obstruction
8. Little Dove (interlude)
9. Back & Bone
10. The Rot
