Abigail Lapell featuring Jill Barber - "Hazel"

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Photo by Jen Squires

Abigail Lapell's albums tend to have a theme, but her upcoming album might have the most obvious one so far. Recorded while she was pregnant, the nine songs on Shadow Child represent each month of a pregnancy. The first single, "Hazel," is the second song on the album and features additional vocals from Jill Barber. It's an absolute stunning song, with gentle guitar and vocals. It's a stripped down and simple folk song that, according to the press release, "... is a gentle love letter to an unborn or future child, or one that may never be." Lapell and Barber's vocals are the true focus of the song, and are absolutely lovely with a sense of hopefulness. We've been fully on board with Abigail Lapell for a while now, and "Hazel" continues her streak of instantly engaging folk songs.

Abigail Lapell says the video for her latest single was created "... using old super 8 footage I filmed as a teenager and recently rediscovered. Shot at a melancholy yet hopeful time in my life, the film features birds in flight and at rest, often shaky, scratchy or out of focus. I feel like this stuttering footage has its own fragile beauty that resonates with the song’s sweet message of a nascent love, half-formed but all-consuming.”

You can watch the video for "Hazel" below. Shadow Child is due out May 8 on Outside Music, and is available for pre-order here. For more on Abigail Lapell, check out the artist on Instagram and Facebook. Upcoming tour dates are below the video and include May 15 at The Word Barn in Exeter, NH and May 16 at Club Passim in Cambridge, MA.


Feb 26 - Niagara, ON - Niagara Artists Centre

April 10 - Saint John, NB - Imperial Theatre

May 8 - Richards Landing, ON - Algoma Trad

May 14 - Saratoga Springs, NY - Caffe Lena

May 15 - Exeter, NH - Word Barn

May 16 - Cambridge, MA - Club Passim

May 17 - New York, NY - Cafe Wha?

May 22 - Toronto, ON - Hugh's Room

May 23 - Chelsea, ON - Motel Chelsea

May 24 - Ottawa, ON - Ottawa Tennis Club

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