Photo: Sandlin Gaither
Asheville, NC-based singer/songwriter Nicole Lund, who makes music under the moniker lund, has announced the forthcoming release of her debut LP, Right This Time, on September 9th. Two singles from the album have been released — the soulful title track, and the rock-centric “Don’t You Leave Me.”
LISTEN: “RIGHT THIS TIME”
LISTEN: “DON’T YOU LEAVE ME”
“I don’t know if you believe in this crap,” says lund, who recently had her tarot read. “But I drew the Hermit card, representing exploration and personal growth. He’s shining a light: Come on out of the shadows!” After a decade in the music business on the management and booking sides, the classically-trained singer has finally moved toward the light. “It was time,” she reveals.
lund’s debut album Right This Time, was recorded with producer Tyler “The Falcon” Greenwell (Tedeschi Trucks Band) at Echo Mountain Studios and Sedgwick Studios in her adoptive hometown of Asheville. The album features original songs honed over her decades-long stint in New York City as a working musician, promoter, and manager. Written in collaboration with local artist Brandon Townsend — and additional contributions from guitarist Paul Olsen (Scrapomatic, Susan Tedeschi, Kristina Train) — lund’s soulful brand of Americana runs the gamut from punchy blues to plaintive weepers. Her band is a reflection of her eclectic tastes: Dave Yoke on guitar (Dr. John, Susan Tedeschi), Brandon Boone on bass (Tedeschi Trucks Band, Col. Bruce Hampton) and New Orleanian Isaac Eady (Tedeschi Trucks Band, Rhiannon Giddens) on drums.
Her musical journey actually started with a Music Industries Studies degree — with a concentration in vocal performance — from Appalachian State University. Suffice to say, she “knows her shit.” “My voice professor was an opera singer,” says lund with a grin. “I sang every spiritual I could to avoid opera.” Her passion and training are evident on the Nina Simone-derived psych-soul of “Don’t You Leave Me,” the grungy swirl of “Paper Tiger,” and her subtle self-harmonizing on the title track. On this eclectic stroll through American musical styles, lund’s clarion voice is the tie that binds.
In the summer of 2020, with the pandemic on the rise and an album’s worth of rock solid material in the tank, she realized how she could optimize her quarantine. The tricky dance of socially-distanced recording was well worth it. “I always felt like a late bloomer in life,” she reflects. “But now I know it’s all about timing.”
RIGHT THIS TIME TRACK LIST
PAPER TIGER
DON’T YOU LEAVE ME
RIGHT THIS TIME
LAST SHOW
BED’S TOO BIG WITHOUT YOU
COMING HOME
MEET ME HALFWAY
GOOD ADVICE
SOMETHING’S GOTTA GIVE