Like a fine Kentucky bourbon, the Louisville band Bridge 19 has come of age with its new album In the Afterglow (out 4/26). Mature and bold but sweet and satisfying, Bridge 19 offers it most revealing and meaningful songs to date.
Through lush, polished vocal harmonies, frontwomen Audrey Cecil and Amanda Lucas sing about serious, timely topics while ensuring that their songs remain charming and fun. Using moody electric guitars, horns, accordion, pedal steel, and drums, Bridge 19 presents riffs that bend and blend genres. Touches of Americana, lively pop, vintage Nashville, Motown, singer-songwriter, and even disco float from song to song. You’ll want to dance and sing along.
“In the Afterglow” is the third full-length album for a five-person band that has been entertaining live audiences and garnering critical acclaim since 2007, when Lucas and Cecil first began performing together.
Bridge 19 has shared stages with Brandi Carlile, Dr. Dog, Langhorne Slim, Sarah McLachlan, Asleep at the Wheel, Richard Thompson and more. The band has been booked at major music festivals, including MidPoint, RiverRoots, FreeFall, Lilith Fair and the International Folk Festival.
Bridge 19 has also been featured on nationally syndicated NPR and was ranked No. 1 in Thrillist’s “Top Louisville Bands You Need to Hear.” “Riding on a Wire,” the band’s last full-length release, was ranked No. 14 in Louisville AAA station WFPK’s 100 Best Albums of 2015, and Bridge 19 was a finalist for Folk Artist of the Year at the 2015 Louisville Music Awards.
Glide is proud to premiere “The Truth” a vibrant and colorful composition that recalls the righteous vocals of Neko Case and Jenny Lewis atop the eclectic musicianship of Calexico. Bridge 19 wraps up an indie rock flair atop a set of rangy folk rock that impresses with its delivery and composition.
“The inspiration for “The Truth” really came from a conversation we were having about hard realizations,” says Cecil. “Actually much the of the album (In the Afterglow) is about that very thing – hard truths about yourself and about people you love. We talked so much about relationships that we all have in our lives, and how sometimes they end and then you think about all of the horrible things this person said about you when the relationship existed. And for better or worse, with some of them, you think, “they’re right.”
“That’s when it always hurts the most, when you know there’s some truth in there. It’s one thing to think, “Oh, theywere just upset and wanted to hurt me,” adds Cecil. “It’s a whole different feeling when you know that painful words have little bits of truth infused. One interesting bit about the process of writing “The Truth,” especially as the top single for this album, is that it almost got struck from the album completely. We were so intentional about writing songs that we could have fun with on stage. This song began as a 3/4 time, almost waltzy country song, and we already had one sort of similar. While we loved the song lyrically, we weren’t in love with the arrangement, so we totally scrapped the music and started from scratch. We wanted to try and capitalize on the tension that happens when you write a happy sounding song about a not-so-happy topic. Once we brought it to the band and heard the super fun groove with everyone, we all loved it and went all on it. ”
Lucas and Cecil’s vocal harmonies have always been a cornerstone of Bridge 19, and they guide song after song on “In the Afterglow.” Lucas and Cecil’s soulful singing is reminiscent of female Americana duos like the Secret Sisters and the Watson Twins. Bridge 19’s leaders aren’t related by blood, though their effortless melodies might make you think they are.
In fact, Lucas and Cecil have been close friends for most of their lives, and that trust and comfort enables them to push past vulnerabilities and dig deep. Together, they craft songs that explore love, loss, addiction, heartache, anxiety, fear, joy and desire.
“We know what each other is thinking or means at all times,” Lucas said. “It’s challenging to write music with somebody, but I don’t find it challenging to write with Audrey because we know each other so well.”
