Album · 2016

Sunday Clothes, Saturday Night

A Detroit church-choir girl slips out of the pew and into the after-hours clubs, carrying her hymns in her pocket.

Tracks

1. Cab Radio, Quarter to ThreeI wanted to open in the dark with wet streets and a Rhodes that barely speaks. It sets the room before I ever raise my voice.smoky soul, soul-jazz4:04
2. Dance Floor GhostsAn old ballroom with fresh paint and the same tired floorboards. I sang it like I was dancing with somebody who isn't there anymore.torch soul, nostalgic soul3:07
3. Coat Check, Ticket 114The coat-check girl sees everything and says nothing. This one let me be a little sly.jazz-pop, swing soul4:38
4. Switchboard After MidnightA switchboard operator humming to herself after midnight. I kept it almost a whisper so the horns could breathe around it.late-night soul, quiet storm4:12
5. Sunday Hymn for the Night ShiftThis is the song that tells you where I come from. The choir comes in late, the way it does at the end of a long service.gospel soul, choir soul3:21
6. Pocket Watch Stopped at SevenMy granddad's watch really did stop at seven, and nobody ever fixed it. I left it that way in the song too.warm soul, vintage soul3:52
7. Lantern Man on the Midnight FerryA lantern on a midnight ferry, a stranger with a steady hand. It's a hymn wearing a captain's coat.gospel soul, folk soul3:29
8. Lay Your Burden Down by the RiverThe one I'd sing to anyone carrying too much. We recorded the last chorus in one take with everyone in the room.gospel, spiritual soul3:32
9. Lamp Still Burning in the Choir LoftAn empty church, a lamp still lit in the loft. It's about faith that doesn't need an audience.gospel soul, hymn soul4:15
10. Washday Blues, Monday SunClosing on laundry on the line and a Monday sun, because after all that night I wanted the morning to win.groove soul, sunny soul3:46

Liner notes

I made this record with one foot in the choir loft and one foot on a barroom stair. We cut it live in a narrow room with a battered Rhodes, three horns, and a lot of cigarette-scented curtains. I was learning that a hymn can sit in a smoky arrangement and not lose a bit of its faith. Every song here is about someone keeping watch, whether it's the night shift, the ferryman, or the lamp left on in the loft.

Nina Vale