Patience is likely a virtue of Andy Shauf’s prairie upbringing. After the release of his 2008 debut Darker Days, he learned to play the waiting game. With 2010′s EP Waiting For The Sun To Leave, he began the long process of releasing only a few songs every couple of years. No easy task for a prolific writer. It would be another two years until his next proper release, 2012′s Sam Jones Feeds His Demons; an introduction to the artistic growing pains that would eventually lead to a brighter sound, and a darker story. That story, The Bearer of Bad News, is his first full length record in over four years. It is also undeniably his best. A journey of long winter nights spent writing and hot summer days spent on the road with friends. Recorded alone in the basement, Bearer is 11 songs built on a weathered piano, a warm guitar, a clarinet, and the melody of a broken heart. At the heart is Andy’s one-of-a-kind voice and dark knack for story. It eventually found its way to producer and engineer, Jonathan Anderson who gave the songs a humble trademark polish, and helped them find a way to speak for themselves.
