Laura Stevenson - The Big Freeze
DON GIOVANNI, 2019
Producer, Engineer
“Their [Rogers and Stevenson’s] comfortability working together is one of the reasons The Big Freeze is so undaunting in its exploration of Stevenson’s inner worlds. It was recorded at her mom’s house, so there was no need to rush. The aim during recording was to conjure what she felt when writing, and they talked about each song in depth before committing them to tape. “The stakes were low, which was nice,” she explains. “We were like, 'Let's fucking feel the way that it's supposed to feel, and if for some reason I'm standing in my own way and hating myself too much, we move on.’ That was a really beautiful way to work, because I'm so critical of myself.”
“I got pretty heavy with Joe before each song,” Stevenson recalls. “It was a lot, but it was also therapeutic to be talking intensely about this shit. You don't really talk about what you write about, especially right before you make a record, because nobody's asking questions yet.” - FADER
“This time around, co-producer Joe Rogers listened to the material and brought in musicians that would be best suited to the compositions…
Unburdened by things like conventional song structure and outside expectations, Stevenson has made an album that’s richly detailed and completely genuine, the product of a songwriter who has never been given her big break and is wholly content to make work that is solely for herself.” - Vice
“A decade after making her solo debut, Stevenson has found her sweet spot as a singer-songwriter. The emotionally barbed storytelling, stripped-down delivery, and orchestral flair weave together symbiotically, a testament to how far Stevenson has come as a musical autodidact. Above all, it’s her voice that makes The Big Freeze such a raw, therapeutic listen.” - Pitchfork (7.4 review)
“With her newest album, The Big Freeze, Stevenson returns from a four year absence with her hardest-hitting music yet. The songs ache from her emotional vocal delivery as she recounts familial anxiety, self-harm, and a handful of overwhelming fears. It may be her darkest record, but the cellos, violins, and french horns swooning behind her make these country-tinged ballads and intimate orchestral songs sound like a soft revival of Judee Sill or Jason Molina.” - Stereogum
“Stevenson continues to make music that can stop your heart. In that regard, her latest is arguably Stevenson’s most adept album.” - Paste Magazine