From their early days busking in their hometown of Knoxville, Tennessee, folk-country duo The Montvales have fine-tuned the art of meeting listeners exactly where they are. And with their upcoming album Born Strangers, the pair—Sally Buice and Molly Rochelson—have taken that concept to universal levels, creating a reaffirming collection of songs for these uncertain times as told through the wide-eyed existentialism of their stories and the questions raised by their lyrics. And while staying true to the folk traditions like a strong sense of home or enacting change through art, The Montvales offer up their mantras through the fresh, honest perspective of young, female artists in the 2020s.
Due out on February 2nd, 2024, Born Strangers takes a step into new territory with a full band of Nashville musicians; a departure from Heartbreak Summer Camp, The Montvales’ 2019 album that reunited the duo after Buice and Rochelson moved away for some time to seek their fortunes separately.
The new direction was aided by producer Mike Eli LoPinto (guitarist for Chris Stapleton and co-writer and producer of Emily Nenni’s “On the Ranch”) who assembled an A-list roster of session players at sound engineer Sean Sullivan’s Tractor Shed Studio for Born Strangers. The result is The Montvales’ sound elevated and amplified. Buice and Rochelson’s voices intertwine jubilantly throughout the album—a sound developed over a lifetime of singing together—and listeners are compelled to join in harmony on a dynamic journey through the gritty, determined, and sometimes absurd world of The Montvales.
Today Glide is offering an exclusive premiere of the video for the new album’s title track. Featuring the duo on banjo and acoustic guitar playing and singing in a cozy kitchen, finds this talented duo showcasing their bright and soulful harmonies to a soundtrack of warming folk. With minimal instrumentation, the song carries a sense of intimacy that transpires in the vocals and lyrics about being outsiders. This isn’t a bad thing, as the song feels like a reflective celebration.
“‘Born Strangers’ is a song about the irony of losing your sense of self in a relationship initially sparked by having a shared sense of being outsiders, and the process of finding it again in the aftermath. It’s about taking the pain of that lesson on the chin while having empathy for a younger and more naive version of yourself who was just looking for understanding. It’s about spinning out a little but also reveling in your own freedom and feeling powerful for having fought for yourself. “ – Molly Rochelson
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