Seattle Folk-Rockers Ivan & Alyosha Return With Triumphant New Album ‘All We Ever Had’
August 25, 2023 BY Jason Currell
Today, Seattle folk-rockers Ivan & Alyosha release their triumphant new record, All We Ever Had, out now via Nettwerk. It’s an album that almost didn’t happen after a tumultuous period that led to a fractured lineup and plenty of questions about the future. Through the tough times, co-founders Tim Wilson and Ryan Carbary found a strengthened resolve and left their hometown to work with Nashville producer Owen Lewis. (Old Sea Brigade, Mickey Guyton). The result is the band’s most earnest release to date. Listen to All We Ever Had on all digital retailers (here).
Frontman Tim Wilson reflects: “For a while I really thought we were going to burn down Ivan & Alyosha, but we kept having people in our lives point us back to its history and value. In a way it feels like we had to do things wrong for a long time in order to get to a point where we’re finally doing it right. To come full circle after everything that’s happened and end up making some of our best work ever is an incredible irony and makes me really excited for whatever’s next.”
WATCH & SHARE “ALL THE THINGS THEY NEVER TELL YOU” OFFICIAL VIDEO:
https://youtu.be/8Zbz963pe4U
For Ivan & Alyosha, the past few years have brought the kind of massive upheaval that often leads to a band’s undoing. After enduring the sudden canceling of a number of shows due to personal crisis and also dealing with multiple lineup changes (as well as the all-consuming chaos of the pandemic), the Seattle-based folk-rock act considered putting an end to the collaboration first begun back in 2007. But in a leap of faith, co-founders Tim Wilson (vocals) and Ryan Carbary (guitar, piano) chose to carry on as a two-piece, completely revamp their process, and bring a newly heightened sense of purpose to the creation of their fourth full-length. Expanding on the incisive yet compassionate songcraft that’s earned acclaim from the likes of NPR and Rolling Stone—and led to such triumphs as touring with Aimee Mann, Brandi Carlile, NEEDTOBREATHE, The Lone Bellow, Chris Carrabba, and more—All We Ever Had ultimately marks the start of a new era for Ivan & Alyosha while delivering some of their most poignant and powerful material to date.
As Wilson reveals, the making of All We Ever Had first gained momentum back in 2021, when he and his family moved to Nashville from their longtime home in Seattle. “In the past the band would sit in the studio for two or three years, banging our heads against the wall until we finished the record, and I knew we’d have to function in a new way if we were going to move forward.” After connecting with producer/engineer Owen Lewis (Mickey Guyton, Old Sea Brigade), Wilson and Carbary headed into Lewis’s studio with an elite lineup of Nashville musicians, then gauged their chemistry by recording a small batch of songs (including a strikingly tender cover of Radiohead’s “High and Dry” that ended up making the album). “The experience was so freeing—we got some amazing work done without belaboring anything, and there was a whole new excitement about what we were doing,” says Wilson. “It felt like we had righted the ship.”
Produced by Lewis and mostly recorded live, All We Ever Had finds Ivan & Alyosha exploring the complexities of building a good life in endlessly tumultuous times. Throughout the album, the band brings a potent immediacy to that self-reflection—an effect achieved by adding a new element of spontaneity to the recording process, in addition to stripping away any obstacles to soul-baring expression. “Instead of letting the lyrics be like hidden gems for people to uncover, I wanted to say things in a very direct and specific way that hopefully connects on a deeper level,” says Wilson. “I wanted to get closer to my favorite kind of songwriting, where you hear a lyric and feel like it was written just for you.”
MEDIA PRAISE FOR IVAN & ALYOSHA:
“a solid set of wistful folk-pop with soaring harmonies and anthemic choruses.”
— KEXP
“…quite an edge…”
-BrooklynVegan
“a polished west coast soul-folk sound that draws on the poppier sensibilities of McCartney songwriting.”
– American Songwriter
“Beatles-esque pop harmonies and sweet melodies.”
– NPR Music
“‘Everybody Breaks’ is an insanely catchy folk-pop number that’s instantly memorable… The future has never seemed more welcoming for Ivan & Alyosha.”
— PopMatters
Track List:
1. Can’t Fight the Feeling
2. Holding on to Every Breath
3. Gold
4. Wonder
5. Everything to Me
6. Don’t Want to Waste Anymore Time
7. All the Things They Never Tell You
8. High and Dry
9. Sweet Love
10. Get on With Your Life
11. All We Ever Had
