Anna May unveils new album "Detach" on June 11

Jun. 3—Waterford singer/songwriter Anna May is calling from a rest stop in the metropolis of Pine Bluff, Wyoming. She's headed back home after a tour of northern California and the Big Sky Country in which she did 13 shows in 17 days in support of her new full-length album called "Detach."

"Pine Bluff isn't big on a map, but it's pretty. It's REALLY pretty out here and I've played a lot of chill places," she says, then laughs softly. "That's important because this was never really supposed to be a tour to begin with. And playing these shows actually taught me a lot about 'Detach' that I didn't realize."

May will perform the entire CD at an official release party June 11 at Chateau le Gari winery in Marlborough. She follows with dates June 17 at the Bridge in Westerly and June 25 at the Rose Arts Festival in Norwich.

Originally, May's journey west was simply to pick up a car and, while she was there, have some yoga experiences and relax. But, given that she'd recently completed "Detach," and a year ago had a successful and rewarding tour of Northern California, it occurred to her to turn the junket into a "working trip."

"I was all set to do the yoga thing, but I reached out to some of the venues I'd played last year, just to see if there was any interest," she says. "And suddenly I had all these gig opportunities. The reaction was kind of a nice surprise but I wasn't expecting that many offers. At first it was overwhelming and I kind of resisted it and then thought, 'Why not jump into it?' The west seems very open to the style of music I play and that appeals to my introverted nature."

New directions

Experiencing "Detached," with its whispery acoustic guitar and May's yearning melodies, is the aural equivalent of having a job tracking clouds across a springtime skies from beside a high country brook where there's always a bottle of nice Chard icing in a bucket nearby. The music is instantly identifiable to folks who have enjoyed previous May recordings like "Kites," "Hey Houdini," "Flimsy Diatribe" and "I'm Still Thinking of You."

But there are differences as well.

"Detached," for one thing, fuses older songs May had never recorded with a batch of new work. Too, where earlier releases often focused on failed relationships, global activism and societal observations, May used the downtime of COVID and her experiences last year in California to frame her thoughts and music in a more positive fashion.

"I like this album because there's a whimsical quality," May says. "Even the older tunes have changed because I've changed. I see and hear them differently. I wanted to reflect a more positive and hopeful side, which is I suppose kind of surprising because I've written a lot in the past from the perspective of anxiety and insecurity."

Stretching out

With that vibe, May feels free on the album to stretch the material out; many of the songs reach the 7- or 8-minute point — but it all feels natural and flowing. In fact, the album is a bit of old school in that, while each of the tunes stand on their own, the entire recording is meant to be listened to as a complete, A-Z experience.

"I've been listening to a lot of jazz and jam bands," May says, "which sort of screws me up. When I try to write within the traditional pop or folk framework I'm used to, I've been having trouble with the verse/chorus/bridge thing. I worried about at first. Am I flowing TOO much? But, again, playing this material out west was very revealing. Whether it's wineries or clubs, listeners in the west seem more open to what I do. I could be wrong, but I do feel my music doesn't resonate in the midwest or certainly back home on the east coast."

"Detach" was recorded at Stable Sounds in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, and produced and engineered by Steve Rizzo, who helmed May's previous "Kites" EP. One difference between the two projects is that, while both feature May in solo guise on acoustic guitar and voice, "Kites" was originally designed to be a full-band effort. COVID isolation caused May and Rizzo to rethink the possibilities and May ended up liking the stark sound.

When it came time to track "Detach," the aim was to replicate the stripped down style. "I listen to the songs and I can hear where other instruments should be and can imagine arrangements," May says. "On one hand, I'm open to working with other musicians and it would be cool to hear the songs filled out. But I like the songs the way they are."

Homeward bound

"Part of that is that, in large part, because I've been playing live so much and the experiences last year touring California, that I have a new confidence in my playing and singing and performance onstage. I never thought of myself as a guitarist, but it's fun to know I can do it."

While May says she'll be happy to be home in Connecticut and can spend time with her parents and grandmother, her experiences on the west coast have made a big impression.

"Ultimately, I really do think my future is in northern California or in the Pacific Northwest," she says. "I'm a different person out there, more positive and hopeful. I do think it's true that certain types of music resonate in different parts of the country, and I feel more comfortable and less anxious in the west."