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Geist

by Shannon Lay

supported by
Janice Keegan
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Janice Keegan Geist is the first track of the first album that introduced me into the world of music that is Shannon Lay, and I honestly don't ever want to leave it. This song takes me into ALL of my memories of peace. It's the soundtrack to my dreams. My soul is devouring this album in anticipation of hearing all the others from this incredible artist. Favorite track: Geist.
Saint Aardvark
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Saint Aardvark Quiet, beautiful, *soulful* music that takes you by the hand and doesn't let go. Favorite track: Geist.
Citoyen Jensen
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Citoyen Jensen Amazing album. My first impression was like "What did Sandy Denny /Fairport Convention have a spawn?" .Then you still wanders in the foggy folksy dreamy gothic swamps of the Uk folk revival revival. But then your hear it: ts actually cosmic american music in the vein of Gram Parsons and Jackson Browne but now done on another ground of influence than blues and soul, but with a much stronger romantic and metaphysical tone that is without the reach for most american souls in tone of voice.
Steven Moses
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Steven Moses "Geist" is a majestic collection of love songs that hits hardest when they're written to the self. A lot of the record is about leaving your comfort zone, and how relationships (with others and yourself) develop and change as a result.

I'm in a period of life transition, and in the moment, it feels like the worst thing. "Geist" was exactly what I needed to hear. The beauty of this record is like reassurance of the growth that awaits me on the other side of hard times. Favorite track: Sure.
Ethan Harte
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Ethan Harte Beautiful album. The lyrics are very impactful and Shannon has a lovely voice. This was my AOTY Favorite track: Awaken and Allow.
Shaun Rutherford
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Shaun Rutherford This is one of the best albums of the year. First note makes you say “Uh-oh,” but it was just a trick, as the rest of the album is completely perfect. Remind me to buy this for Jenny for Christmas.
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  • Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    A copy of Geist on limited edition color vinyl.

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  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    A copy of "Geist" on CD.

    Includes unlimited streaming of Geist via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 3 days
    Purchasable with gift card

      $12 USD or more 

     

1.
Rare to Wake 04:38
2.
3.
Sure 04:20
4.
Shores 03:34
5.
6.
Geist 03:30
7.
Untitled 04:39
8.
Late Night 04:12
9.
Time's Arrow 03:30
10.
July 02:55

about

Geist feels like a window - or a mirror - into possibilities of the self and beyond. Shannon Lay’s new album is tender intensity, placeless and ethereal. It exists in the chasms of the present -- a world populated by shadow selves, spiritual awakenings, déjà vu, and past lives.

“Something sleeps inside us,” Lay insists on the opening track, and that’s the guiding philosophy throughout. A winding, golden, delicate thread of intuition that explores the unknown, the possibility. Its title, Geist, the German word for spirit, is rife with an otherworldly presence, the suggestion of another. The promise that you are never alone.

Lay tracked vocals and guitar at Jarvis Tavinere of Woods’s studio, then sent the songs out to multi-instrumentalists Ben Boye (Bonnie Prince Billy, Ty Segall) in Los Angeles and Devin Hoff (Sharon Van Etten, Cibo Matto) in New York; trusting their musical instincts and intuition. She then sent those recordings to Sofia Arreguin (Wand) and Aaron Otheim (Heatwarmer, Mega Bog) for additional keys, while Ty Segall contributed a guitar solo on “Shores.”

As a whole, Geist is both esoteric and accessible. Songs range from a concise, pared-back cover of Syd Barrett’s tilt-a-whirl-esque “Late Night,” to the meditative Dune-inspired "Rare to Wake,” to the mostly a-cappella “Awaken and Allow,” which channels Lay’s deep Irish roots, a moment of reflection, before a drop happens -- its intensity mirroring the anticipation and anxiety that come with taking the first step to accepting change for yourself.

And the title track “Geist,” a song about the power living in all of us, is a love song to the possibility of healing, an ode to falling into the arms of what you’re becoming. It’s a glimpse into the parts of yourself you have yet to meet. But you can, if you want to.

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released October 8, 2021

© 2021 Sub Pop Records

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Shannon Lay Los Angeles, California

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