Listen: Andy Shauf - "The Worst In You"

photo by Colin Medley

As Saskatchewan singer/songwriter Andy Shauf gets closer to the release of his new album The Party, we're thankfully getting more and more glimpses of the finished product. While first single "The Magician" introduced us more to the sound of the record - namely Shauf's sort of Bacharach arrangement, "The Worst In You" actually places us at The Party in question where we're introduced to some of its guest.

"The Magician" may not have taken place at the party itself (or if it does, it's not as implicitly stated as "The Worst In You"), but turns out it sets the tone for the record. "The Worst In You" is a lightly arranged slice of folky chamber pop that can't quite shake its air of melancholy. Our first glimpse into the party's guests isn't much of a pleasant one - after arriving at the party, the narrator finds himself assuming the worst after separating from his date at a party. Shauf excels at rooting his songs is a sort of naturalistic candor that keeps his songs from spinning into drama. "The Worst In You" pits a normal human response against introspection. Or rather they function hand and hand, the narrator jumps to conclusions but never acts upon them externally. And it's to Shauf's credit that he's able to make an almost entirely internalized narrative so engaging.



Andy Shauf's sophomore album The Party is out May 20th on Anti- and Arts & Crafts in Canada.