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Taken from BroadwayWorld (Jul 12, 2022)
QUEEN KWONG Releases New Album 'Couples Only'
The album features 11 new songs.
by Michael Major
QUEEN KWONG, aka Carre Kwong Callaway |
QUEEN KWONG, aka Carre Kwong Callaway, has released her new album Couples Only. Available today via Sonic Ritual, the record includes the recent singles "On The Run" (featuring Roger O'Donnell of The Cure), "I Know Who You Are," and "Without You, Whatever."
The product of a tumultuous few years for Carre, in which she was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis and told she may only have a decade left to live before going through a divorce, Couples Only is an outpouring of pure feeling and visceral thought. It captures every emotion that comes with both the grieving and recovery process, arriving a testament to the endurance of the human spirit.
Whilst unashamedly focussed on the darkest period of Carre's life, it doesn't wallow. It can be accusatory and violent, but there's no time wasted on self-pity. "It's not a fun record," Carre admits, "but, at times, it's a funny one."
It's the maelstrom of those raw feelings recorded in real-time that serve as the common denominator on a record that spans multiple musical genres, refusing to settle for just one style. As with every Queen Kwong album, Couples Only was entirely improvised and recorded on the spot-nothing was pre-written lyrically or musically.
For three weeks, Carre and longtime producer Joe Cardamone (The Icarus Line/Dark Mark vs Skeleton Joe) crafted about one song a day, which would eventually be whittled down to the final 11 songs.
The resulting album assembles a notable cadre of contributing musician friends including previously mentioned Roger O'Donnell (keyboards), Swans' Kristof Hahn (lap steel) and Blood Red Shoes' Laura-Mary Carter (backing vocals) who appear on assorted tracks on the LP - it's Carre setting the record straight, and this time around she's taking no prisoners.
Queen Kwong has been making music since 2005 when she was discovered by Trent Reznor who invited her to open Nine Inch Nails' With Teeth tour (2005), and again in 2009 and 2018. She has released two albums (Get a Witness in 2015 and Love Me to Death in 2018) and two EPs (2013's Bad Lieutenant and 2019's Oh Well).
Needless to say, Couples Only is Carre setting the record straight, and across these 11 songs, she takes no prisoners. It is out today via Sonic Ritual.
Listen to the new album here:
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