Feeling detached from her previously released work as years lapsed, Duluth, Minnesota’s Sarah Krueger set out to Hive, a small studio nestled near the river in her hometown of Eau Claire, WI. In the course of two separate sessions, (the first on the cusp of a long winter, and the second on the fringe of summer’s swell), Krueger assembled a cast of collaborators to help flesh out a collection of songs that would later become the catalyst for Lanue. Culled from the title of a poem that found its way to Krueger from a thrift store shelf, Lanue comes to us as a project that stands firmly in front of a fresh creative backdrop and boasts a more developed taste and sincerity than Krueger’s previous releases — both a welcome departure and anticipated return.
On Lanue’s self-titled LP (2021), Krueger continues to amplify her knack for straightforward and earnest songwriting while maintaining a vocal delivery that sits like honey over layers of warm synths, guitars, and percussion. Ranging from confessional to nostalgic, each track is brightened by a lush lift while continuing to rest inside the framework of the folk tradition. Krueger enlisted collaborators Steve Garrington (Low) and Sean Carey (S. Carey, Bon Iver) to assist with production and instrumentation while relying on JT Bates (Pieta Brown, Taylor Swift) on drums, and Ben Lester (Field Report, Sufjan Stevens) on pedal steel guitar. String arrangements by Ryan Young (Trampled by Turtles) and guitar work by Erik Koskinen round out the record so that it arrives at a place of stark honesty and inviting warmth.
On the heels of Lanue’s debut release, Krueger was approached by Low’s Alan Sparhawk with a desire to explore a sound that was more stripped back and stark than the lush, twangy 2021 album. The idea for the production of this batch of songs was simple — keep the vocals and melody at the forefront, the arrangements sparse and bold, and leave the guitars at home. Slowly the pair would chip away at the project in Alan’s Duluth hillside home until they arrived at Fire in My Mind — a five-song EP that dabbles in an electric synth sound with honest and earnest vocals and a tendency to lean into subtle tension and buoyant obscurity. With themes ranging from the shape of time to the hope we must carry in the face of a crumbling world — Lanue puts another foot forward toward building a catalogue that puts the song at the center of the creative process.
