Actress, writer, filmmaker and comedian Noël Wells is excited to announce her full-length debut album titled It’s So Nice! Out on Friday, August 30, It’s So Nice! (itssonice.net) is a dynamic debut showcase that places an emphasis on songwriting with tunes that traverse folk, pop, alt-country and psych-rock. Circling themes of loss of innocence, heartbreak, and discovering autonomy, the album reflects on modern times – an anti-political diary that calls for acts of rebellion, albeit it in subversive and poetic ways.
Accompanying the announcement is the introspective “Sad Girl Blues” which Wells penned in the spring of 2017, though its message feels more relevant than ever. “’It’s an anthem I hope everyone can sing,” she says. “At the core it’s a song about a woman divided against herself, trying to reclaim the disowned aspects of her psyche, knowing none of us can do it alone.” “Sad Girl Blues” follows the release of “Sunrise” and “Star,” two album tracks praised by the likes of NYLON, Consequence of Sound, Stereogum, Paste and more. Stream “Sad Girl Blues” on Stereogum HEREand YouTube HERE.
After spending a season on Saturday Night Live, appearing as Rachel on Master of None, and writing, directing, and starring in the award winning indie feature Mr. Roosevelt, Noël Wells hit a crossroads.
“I was at a classic sort of ‘artist figuring themselves out’ emotional low in 2016. I had just directed my first film, went through a breakup, and the 2016 election was so ugly. I felt pretty lost and really overwhelmed.”
That summer she began composing songs, bought a guitar and started taking lessons so she could accompany what she was writing. “It wasn’t pre-meditated, the songs sort of popped out of me, and I had to follow. I felt like they were conveying what I wanted to say better than being on Twitter yelling into a void.”
From there, she took a dozen of these songs and spent the next year recording on and off in Los Angeles and Austin. Learning the recording process as she went, the songs were transformed from melancholic folk tunes with flashes of dark humor into vibrant and catchy tunes. “When I first started, I honestly thought I was just going to make an album of moody ‘Sad Girl’ songs,” she says. The album and songs evolved organically through the recording process, with a focus on the songwriting as the guiding force for the sound of each song. What developed is a singular debut LP, a dynamic modern California folk rock album that draws on classic influences like the Beatles, Tom Petty, Nancy Sinatra, and The Pixies, to artists like Margo Guryan, Josephine Foster and Sibylle Baier. Wells hopes that the album will be viewed as a complete body of work.
“While the goal was to make every song worth listening to, this to me is really about the story as a whole. It’s almost like each song is chapter of a book that reflects this particular time in my life that I think anyone can relate to, about navigating cultural and psychological nightmares and making something beautiful and fun out it. My dream is for people to jump in and enjoy the ride and listen all the way through.”
It’s So Nice! track listing:
Played For Keeps
Sunrise
Sad Girl Blues
Star
It’s So Nice!
Silverlake
Burn It All Down
Follow Me
Brighter Day
Still Sleeping
It’s So Nice (Acoustic)
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