Lincoln Barr is a composer, singer, and guitarist currently based in South Carolina. His latest album, Forfeit the Prize – the third full-length release under his own name, following a decade-plus leading Seattle-based pop group Red Jacket Mine – explores destiny, gratitude, and wonder, embellishing his trademark deft songcraft with a sonic palette that blends string-laden Bacharachian grandeur, sophisticated soul, torchy chanson, and dubby, spectral psychedelia.
After a pandemic interlude that saw the release of several boundary-stretching singles, Barr reconvened the core cast from solo debut Trembling Frames for a joyous session in late summer 2021 – guitarist, co-producer, and confidante Johnny Sangster (Neko Case, Braly Sangster, The Tripwires); the “indispensable” and sympathetic drummer John Convertino, one-half of Tucson legends Calexico; nimble bassist and avant-jazz staple Keith Lowe (Bill Frisell, Wayne Horvitz, Robin Holcomb); and one of Barr’s most vital collaborators over the past decade, keyboard wizard (and nascent string arranger) Daniel Walker – cutting Forfeit the Prize’s ten tracks live to tape over a few days at Sangster’s Crackle & Pop! Studio in Seattle.
For finishing touches, Barr and Sangster enlisted a virtual wrecking crew that included string arrangers Walker (Heart, Amy Ray) and Andrew Joslyn (Mark Lanegan, Seattle Symphony); saxophonist Levon Henry (The Milk Carton Kids, Meshell Ndegeocello, Joe Henry); Chicago-based vocalists Kelly Hogan, Nora O’Connor-Kean, and Casey McDonough (Mavis Staples, Iron & Wine, NRBQ); and longtime ally Jefferson Curtis Brown (Downpilot, Half Rushmore). The album was released October 21, 2022 courtesy of Seattle’s Two Roads Records.
In addition to 2017’s Trembling Frames, which chronicled his own childhood trauma and its aftermath, Barr also composed and cast many of the same musicians to record Cruel Dream: Music From and Inspired by The Past is Never Dead, the soundtrack to director Steve E. Turner’s 2019 documentary feature. He plans to perform live in support of Forfeit the Prize throughout 2023.
THE STORY OF FORFEIT THE PRIZE
Art is more than a means of self-expression; it is a framework through which we experience life. A songwriter may go years without humming a new melody or muttering a couplet into their voice memo app, yet still be working towards a masterpiece. Simply appreciating and examining one’s life can be an invaluable part of the process.
In this sense, Lincoln Barr has been hard at work on his new album, Forfeit the Prize, for five years. However, in the timebound, “and then I wrote…” sense, there have been some interruptions. Luckily, the result is well worth the wait.
In 2019, Barr moved to Columbia, South Carolina. After many years of active engagement in the Pacific Northwest’s thriving music community, including a dozen leading pop-rock combo Red Jacket Mine, Barr found himself in unfamiliar territory. With fewer occasions to perform or record, he instead embraced the opportunity to look inward and reassess his role as an artist.
“In an interior sense, the last couple of years have been some of the best of my life, and I know how fortunate I am to be able to say that,” says Barr. “There may have been less to enjoy, but I’ve been infinitely more capable of appreciating what there is to enjoy, and actively cultivating that capacity.”
“I consider [2017’s] Trembling Frames a testament to survival,” he adds. Having navigated the period of deep depression and suicidality that shaped that emotionally-wrought album, his first under his own name, Barr made peace with the idea that he was going to continue living, quite possibly into old age. But what next? How does one build the foundation of a good life, amid the remnants of childhood trauma and the interpersonal wreckage that often accompanies it? “There have been so many roads to go down exploring that question, and a lot of them show up on this record.”
After many fallow months following his relocation, in late 2019 Barr composed “Safe For Dreaming,” a spectral selection that in its finished form conjures a nocturnal world previously mapped by Julie London, Chet Baker, and Frank Sinatra’s Only The Lonely. “I felt like I was making space for something new, especially lyrically.” Fans of Trembling Frames will find a familiar twilit atmosphere and jazzy harmonic context, rendered with even greater confidence and clarity. But there are new lyrical elements afoot: a playful exploration of the dream world, its unseen influence on intimate relationships, and a healthy sense of wonder and mystery.
Though other cuts eventually recorded for Forfeit the Prize (“You Sentimental Fool,” “Hate To Hear You’ve Gone”) inhabit this same landscape, where solitary dancers spin slowly in an empty ballroom, at first “Safe For Dreaming” was an orphan. “A deluge of songs didn’t immediately pour forth.” Still, a path forward had been illuminated.
Inspiration arrived in February 2020, and Barr wrote fifteen or more songs in that briefest of months. “Over half of this record comes from that batch,” he says. Even as the Covid-19 pandemic brought everyday life to a halt, Barr kept quietly moving forward, composing a few more tunes and allowing himself to start developing a vision for the record’s overall sound, in conversation with longtime producer and collaborator Johnny Sangster.
First and foremost, it is a sound of reflection, of one man letting go of self-deceptions via ruminations like “The Vicissitudes of Art,” and cultivating new mythologies, as in “Only An Idiot,” a paean to embracing the unknown from which the album derives its title. “These days, everyone seems so damn sure about everything, but I’ve come to look upon certainty as a scourge.” Heightening that sense of fluidity, Barr and co-producer Sangster weave subtle hints of dub and psychedelia, genres that embrace ambiguity and intentionally distort listeners’ perceptions, throughout the grooves of Forfeit the Prize.
The album features the same core cast as Trembling Frames: Sangster (who, in addition to recording and mixing the set, buoys the songs with his singular voice on guitar); the “indispensable” and sympathetic John Convertino, one-half of Tucson legends Calexico, on drums; bassist Keith Lowe (heard on dozens of Northwest avant-jazz classics by the likes of Bill Frisell, Wayne Horvitz, and Robin Holcomb); alto saxophonist Levon Henry (who contributed his parts from an apartment in Istanbul); backing vocalist Jefferson Curtis Brown; and one of Barr’s most vital collaborators over the past decade, keyboardist (and nascent string arranger) Daniel Walker.
“The longer I know Dan Walker, the more my respect for him grows,” says Johnny Sangster. “He is truly Lincoln’s musical partner in crime. His vocabulary and deftness keep up with Lincoln’s intellect and wit every step of the way, and I can’t say enough about the huge role he played on Forfeit the Prize.”
Despite Barr’s avowed affection for Scott Walker and Burt Bacharach, he’d previously eschewed orchestration in his music, fearing that might feel like an easy or obvious choice. “I’d never wanted to burden my songs with the connotations associated with strings.” This time felt different. As carefully measured as every other element of the album, Andrew Joslyn and Daniel Walker’s arrangements on seven cuts (including standout singles “Toward Infinity” and “Beyond the Threshold”) illuminate the songs’ sentiments yet never threaten to overwhelm them.
There are other new voices in the mix, equally at home amidst the familiar: backing vocalists Kelly Hogan, Nora O’Connor-Kean, and Casey McDonough (three fifths of Chicago vocal quintet the Flat Five) provide their signature blend on three tracks, including album opener “A Miracle of Sorts.” “I’ve been surrounded by such an amazing, supportive cast, and that’s been a huge part of the process,” Barr notes. From cutting the songs live to tape in Sangster’s Crackle & Pop Studio in Seattle, to visiting the Flat Five crew at Chicago’s Reliable Recorders in January 2022 for a few finishing touches, “I feel like the integrity and care of the other musicians comes through in the songs.”
The curious chord progressions and wry lyrics recognizable to Barr’s fans remain intact on these ten tracks, but they now unfold amidst slower tempos and cooler timbres. Even longtime listeners may be startled by the intimacy and restraint. “I didn’t consciously choose to retire from rock and roll,” says Barr, “but the vein I’ve been developing since Trembling Frames feels much more natural to me.”
What lies ahead remains uncertain. That’s not only okay; it’s inevitable. “Making the work means more to me than it ever has, and what happens after I make it means less than it used to…still, I believe in these songs, and I don’t want to use my newfound modicum of serenity as an excuse not to give them a fair shot at being heard.” After all, what remains after you’ve surrendered a preconceived outcome? Infinite possibility. This possibility lies at the heart of Forfeit the Prize.
— Kurt B. Reighley
CRITICAL PRAISE FOR FORFEIT THE PRIZE
Transmissions :: Lincoln Barr - Jason P. Woodbury, Aquarium Drunkard, August 9, 2023
A miracle of sorts. - Jeff Rawson, The Scout Daily, February 22, 2023
Acclaimed singer-songwriter Lincoln Barr to perform in March at SPACE in Evanston - Eric Schelkopf, The Total Scene, February 18, 2023
“…existing in an alternate reality where Elvis Costello and Burt Bacharach had somehow fused into a single entity.” Jim Allen, “2022 Singer-Songwriter Albums You Need to Know,” Culture Sonar
“Easier to love than describe.” - Vesa Lautamaki, One Chord to Another
“One of the States’ most underrated songwriters…Forfeit the Prize [has] a streak of heart that makes it extra special.” - Michael Toland, The Big Takeover
“Barr’s songwriting is exquisite – he writes elastic, elongated melodies which recall a combination of the Great American Songbook with Americana and late sixties pop influences. This guy deserves a much wider following than he has so far.” - Steve Pick, Best New Records I Heard in November
New Music Reviews (10/24) - Don Yates, Music Director, KEXP
CRITICAL PRAISE FOR TREMBLING FRAMES
"Lincoln Barr has made his masterpiece here. I hope you get to find it. It’s so clearly the sound of him (once again) finding himself." - Simon Sweetman, Off the Tracks
"Both loose and sure-footed at the same time...Barr's created a certain magic and mystique." - Lee Zimmerman, Blurt Magazine
"A record like no other...a wholly genuine musical/artistic statement." - Bill Kopp, Musoscribe
"A triumph of pop’s finest instincts celebrated by a songwriter refusing to let go of ambition and the creative impulse." - Kevin Mathews, Power of Pop
"An instant 'wow'...one of those albums that needs to be heard and experienced and shared." - Robert Ross, Popdose
THE STORY OF TREMBLING FRAMES
Things are rarely what they seem. Horrors hide behind the facade of suburban normalcy. If the songs of Trembling Frames often echo the mid-century vocal pop and cool jazz beloved by filmmaker David Lynch, perhaps that's because Lincoln Barr also appreciates how a calm veneer can conceal dark secrets.
In 2015, Barr – leader of Seattle-area combo Red Jacket Mine – found himself in a deep depression. The band's previous releases, Someone Else's Cake (2013) and the Pure Delight EP (2014), ranked among its finest, garnering radio airplay and critical praise. So why, at the height of accomplishment, did the songwriter feel so miserable?
Creatively, Barr felt he'd reached an impasse. "Frankly, I was getting bored with myself," he admits. But the true source of his problems went deeper. In therapy, Barr started to confront the true source of his turmoil and paralyzing despair: his abusive childhood.
At this critical juncture, Barr unexpectedly wrote "How to Escape." He didn't know the loping original would eventually become the second track on his solo debut, but he recognized it as a breakthrough nevertheless. "I hadn't heard a song like this from myself before," he admits. "It was the first time I'd surprised myself in a long while."
And after that…nothing. A long dry spell. Though he continued to make progress confronting the years of pain and hurt he'd long compartmentalized, he'd stalled on the artistic front—and felt disillusioned as a result. "If I'm not writing, what am I doing?"
To force his hand, Barr booked a week-long residency as a solo act at Al's Den in Portland, OR during summer 2015. "I knew I didn't have enough songs," he admits. Under duress, his fear transformed into inspiration. Within six weeks, he'd penned a slew of new songs which would eventually form the heart of Trembling Frames.
This material revealed facets of Barr's artistry previously unheard in Red Jacket Mine. His longtime affinity for jazz standards, the Great American Songbook, and sophisticated AM radio fare a la Bacharach and David came to the fore in his melodies and chord changes. His vocals took on an understated elegance informed by the likes of Blossom Dearie and Chet Baker.
Perhaps most startling, his lyrics displayed a more personal tone. "Great artists have to risk something, and I honestly wasn't exposing much of myself up till then," Barr admits. He felt he’d been hitting a wall with getting through to people in Red Jacket Mine, but the new solo material connected with the audience at Al's Den—for better or worse. "Some of the songs clearly made certain people uncomfortable."
To strike a balance between light and shade that would best serve these new songs on record, Barr reached out to producer Johnny Sangster (Mudhoney, The Posies), who'd helmed Red Jacket Mine's last few recordings. "He was somebody I trusted to help me, and he wasn't afraid to tell me when my songs needed editing and refining."
From there, Sangster and Barr recruited the core trio of RJM pianist Daniel Walker, bassist Keith Lowe (BRAD, David Sylvian, Harold Budd), and Calexico drummer John Convertino. Sangster played guitar so Barr could focus on singing. The group worked quickly, laying down 13 songs, live to tape, in three days of January 2016.
"I had trouble sleeping the night before we started," he admits. "Perhaps it was fear of committing these songs and ideas to posterity: 'Now there's no turning back.'" The players appreciated the gravity of the situation, too. "This wasn't ‘just a job’ for anyone in the room."
To his relief, the ease of recording belied the material's troubled genesis. That studio chemistry is especially audible in the interactions with Barr's vocals, which quiver with heightened sensitivity. "When you have sympathetic musicians, their playing changes as they respond to the way you sing."
But what to call the finished product? Barr knew he had to release these songs under his own name. Finally, he chose an album title that hinted at some of the record's key themes: memory, point of view, vulnerability. With its echoes of frightened children and unsteady hands behind the camera, the title Trembling Frames seemed to fit.
In Red Jacket Mine, Lincoln Barr has long shown himself as an expert craftsman. Now that songwriting skill aligns with an unprecedented willingness to expose the fears that almost halted his progress. The music might sometimes sound like a nod to a past era of highballs and hi-fi, but even at its most reserved, Trembling Frames feels like a brave man taking his first steps into a brighter future.
— Kurt B. Reighley
TREMBLING FRAMES-ERA PRESS
Crash and Ride - Episode 24: Lincoln Barr - The Crash and Ride Podcast, August 18, 2019
NEM#88: Lincoln Barr’s Off-Center Vulnerability - Nakedly Examined Music podcast, December 19, 2018
"Rock and roll isn’t dead — it’s just gone underground: Top 10 albums of the year" by Johnny Vinyl, East Oregonian, December 23, 2017
"Red Jacket Mine’s Lincoln Barr Confronts His Ghosts on Trembling Frames" by Jim Allen, CultureSonar, October 16, 2017
"Review: Lincoln Barr - Trembling Frames" by Simon Sweetman, Off the Tracks, August 20, 2017
"Seattle transplant brings evolving musical styles to Eastern Oregon" by James Dean Kindle, East Oregonian, May 19, 2017
"Album Review: Lincoln Barr - Trembling Frames" by Lee Zimmerman, Blurt Magazine, April 6, 2017
Episode 51: Free Vinyl Friday - Vinyl Emergency podcast, April 1, 2017
"Tonally awesome: Lincoln Barr and Head Like a Kite to perform Friday night" by Pat Muir, Yakima Herald-Republic, March 8, 2017
Band of the Week: Lincoln Barr by Gwendolyn Elliott, Seattle Magazine, February 28, 2017
Album Review: Lincoln Barr - Trembling Frames by Bill Kopp, Musoscribe, February 28, 2017
Radio City with Jon Grayson and Rob Ross podcast - Popdose, February 28, 2017
"Power of Pop Recommends | Pop Power! Lincoln Barr - Trembling Frames" by Kevin Mathews, Power of Pop, February 10, 2017
"Review: Lincoln Barr - Trembling Frames" by Vesa Lautamaki, One Chord to Another, February 10, 2017
"Graded on a Curve: New in Stores, February 2017" by Joseph Neff, The Vinyl District, February 9, 2017
Video: Lincoln Barr - "How to Escape" by Brian K. Saunders, Fretboard Journal, February 8, 2017
"Album Review: Lincoln Barr - Trembling Frames" by Robert Ross, Popdose, February 8, 2017
The Remix Podcast - KIRO Radio Seattle 97.3FM, January 28, 2017
"Lincoln Barr leaves Red Jacket Mine to make solo debut" - PledgeMusic blog, October 31, 2016
"Raising the Barr: An Interview with Lincoln Barr" by Shannon Mahre, Yakima Magazine, September 2, 2016
"Red Jacket Mine to play rare show in Yakima" by Pat Muir, Yakima Herald-Republic, July 20, 2016