William Fitzsimmons Shares “Distant Lovers” From Forthcoming Album ‘Mission Bell’ (Out September 21); Tour Dates Announced
July 17, 2018 BY Nettwerk
Troubadour songwriter and music producer William Fitzsimmons’ latest record Mission Bell is a chronicling of the tumultuous last year of his life, particularly of the separation from his second wife. An initial version of the album was originally recorded in Fitzsimmons’ home studio in the summer of 2017 but was subsequently abandoned during the course of, and as a result of, the separation.
In 2018 Fitzsimmons moved to Nashville and spent a month’s time rebuilding the lost record with producer Adam Landry (Deer Tick, T. Hardy Morris, k.d. Lang, Vanessa Carlton). The resulting 10-song album tells the story of a decade-long marriage destroyed and eventually rebuilt from the ground up.
Mission Bell includes songs about betrayal, but also reconciliation and forgiveness. Choosing to go deeper than mere absolutism and fate, these are stories of people doing their best, but still managing to destroy each other in the process. The latest single “Distant Lovers” questions if humans are meant to be monogamous creatures and how one can forgive (or not forgive) infidelity.
Sonically, Mission Bell is Fitzsimmons’ first analog tape-centric album. The sounds are raw, real, and tangible. The familiar comforts of acoustic guitars are present but now joined generously by synthesizers, electric guitars, drum loops and violins. “Cutting to tape was new and honestly rather terrifying to me. There’s no “we’ll fix that in post” kind of shit going on. What you play is what you’re gonna hear on the record. But there’s a specialness you get in a performance when you don’t have a parachute. You either play it like it matters to you or you don’t and I think that comes through so clearly in the recordings,” says Fitzsimmons.
Fitzsimmons will perform the new music at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium on July 22, alongside Jim Lauderdale and The Secret Sisters as part of the new annual summer series “Americana At The Ryman.” Starting September 16, Fitzsimmons will begin a short run of dates, starting in Fairfield, CT.
Album is available for presale here: http://smarturl.it/WFBell.
Tour Dates:
9/16 Fairfield, CT @ Fairfield Theatre
9/18 Cambridge, MA @ Club Passim
9/19 Northampton, MA @ The Parlor Room
9/21 New York, NY @ Rockwood Stage 2
9/23 Vienna, VA @ Jammin’ Java
9/24 Asheville, NC @ The Mothlight
9/25 Decatur, GA @ Eddie’s Attic
Track List:
- Second Hand Smoke
- Distant Lovers
- 17 + Forever
- Angela
- In The Light
- Lovely
- Never Really Mine
- Leave Her
- Wait for Me
- Afterlife
Stay tuned in the coming days for more information.
About William Fitzsimmons:
Mission Bell follows 2016’s Live album and the profoundly personal Pittsburgh series, two mini-albums that tell the story of the grandmother he grew up with (Pittsburgh Volume 1) and the grandmother that he never knew because his father was orphaned as an infant (Charleroi: Pittsburgh Volume 2). Fitzsimmons’ 2014 full-length Lions (produced by Chris Walla/Death Cab For Cutie) debuted at #2 on the Top New Artist Albums’ chart, as well as Top 5 on the Folk Albums chart. The appeal of Fitzsimmons’ sound is indicative of his unique upbringing and consequent life experience. Born to two blind parents, Fitzsimmons grew up in a home where sound – particularly music – was integral to communication. His parents had an assortment of guitars, pianos and other instruments, and introduced young William to the music of James Taylor, Joni Mitchell and Leonard Cohen, among others. For many years, armed with a Master’s degree in counseling, he worked as a mental health therapist and only began recording his songs during graduate school breaks. Fitzsimmons’ music has also been licensed to a wide variety of networks including ABC, NBC, MTV, Lifetime and CW and he has been featured in Billboard, NPR, Rolling Stone, Paste, Spin, NYLON Guys, Musikexpress, Uncut, Q Magazine and American Songwriter Magazine.
