I would have never guessed that I'd have the chance to write about my favorite album of last year, but Songwriting Magazine gave me the opportunity, and here it is! My take on Allison Russell's masterwork, Outside Child.
National Album Day 2022
DUNCAN HASKELL on 15 October 2022
https://www.songwritingmagazine.co.uk/music/national-album-day-2022
On National Album Day 2022, a selection of current artists reveal their favourite records and why they mean so much
We might live in an age of playlists and shuffle but, when it really comes down to it, we still love to immerse ourselves in an actual album. The purest form of expression for songwriters and musicians, giving them chance to fully document a moment in time, the very best albums change lives and reflect our own feelings back to us. Providing the soundtrack for the best and worst of times, they amplify the joy of the former and help us survive the latter. To celebrate this year’s National Album Day, we asked a selection of artists, with a particular focus on songwriting, to write about their favourite albums…
OUTSIDE CHILD BY ALLISON RUSSELL
(FANTASY/CONCORD – 2021)
Joselyn Wilkinson (Joselyn & Don): Much has been written about Allison Russell’s breakthrough debut album, Outside Child, and its fearless examination of trauma and resilience. But beyond her ability to find beauty in the darkness, Allison inspires me with her writing style. Like me, she comes to songwriting as a poet with a unique voice, whose metaphors swirl around her subject until they have almost secretly skewered it. With no instinct to fit her songs to pre-approved templates, Allison’s work is a reminder to all of us to embrace our own authentic voice, and let our art carry us – fearlessly – into the deepest part of ourselves.