other titles...

KEEP YOUR COURAGE

naalie-merchant-explodes

  1. Big Girls (feat. Abena Koomson-Davis)
  2. Come on, Aphrodite (feat. Abena Koomson-Davis)
  3. Sister Tilly
  4. Narcissus
  5. Hunting the Wren
  6. Guardian Angel
  7. Eye of the Storm
  8. Tower of Babel
  9. Song of Himself
  10. The Feast of Saint Valentine
  11. Spring & Fall: To a Young Child (2023 Remaster)*
  12. Butterfly (2023 Remaster)*
  13. Giving Up Everything (2023 Remaster)*
  14. Frozen Charlotte (2023 Remaster)*

* vinyl edition includes four bonus tracks from earlier albums,
previously unreleased on vinyl.

NATALIE MERCHANT

KEEP YOUR COURAGE

NONESUCH
  • limited 140g selected retailers exclusive gold 2lp w/ 4 bonus tracks

    Released: 14th Apr 2023

    £38.99
    Buy
  • 140g black 2lp w/ 4 bonus tracks

    Released: 14th Apr 2023

    £38.99
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  • cd

    Released: 14th Apr 2023

    £13.99
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her ninth solo studio album and first of new material since 2014’s self-titled record.

An eclectic album, produced by Merchant, it features two duets sung with vocalist Abena Koomson-Davis (Resistance Revival Chorus), contributions from the Celtic folk group Lúnasa and Syrian virtuoso clarinetist Kinan Azmeh, and horn arrangements by jazz trombonist Steve Davis. There are lush orchestrations throughout by seven composers including: Gabriel Kahane, Stephen Barber, Colin Jacobson, and Megan Gould. Keep Your Courage comprises nine original songs by Merchant as well as an interpretation of ‘Hunting the Wren’ by Ian Lynch of the Irish band Lankum. 

Merchant writes in her album’s liner notes, “The songs contained within this album were written and recorded during the global pandemic that began in the winter of 2019 and is in its fifth wave as I write, in the autumn of 2022. It has been, and continues to be, a period of great flux and fear on every level: global, national, communal, familial, personal. But this is not an album about the coronavirus or the chaos it caused. For the most part, this is an album about the human heart.” She continues, “The word ‘courage’ has its root in the Latin word for heart, cor, and we see it over and over in many languages: le coeur, il cuore, o coração, el corazón. This is a song cycle that maps the journey of a courageous heart.”

‘It’s been 30 years since Merchant announced she was quitting 10,000 Maniacs to go it alone.  She’d had it, she said, with “art by committee.  I didn’t want to have to consult with all these other people.”  She kept her word.  Since Tigerlily, her five-times platinum solo debut, she’s led one of the most individualistic careers of any artist of her standing.  Keep Your Courage is her first of all-new material in nine years.  It’s also her most beautiful in decades.’
– Mojo   

‘Keep Your Courage, almost a decade in the making, finds Merchant as witty and welcoming as always, turning her gaze to what helps us endure life’s ups and downs […]  A typically edifying Merchant release, her wise lyrics and compassionate vocals complemented by rich orchestral arrangements and intriguing collaborations.’
– Uncut

‘It's always been admirable that Merchant only released solo albums when she felt like she had something to say.  Keep Your Courage certainly fits that bill, while being a welcome return to form to boot.’
– Classic Pop   

‘Keep Your Courage is a gospel-folk record, made up of stirring piano chords, glowing horns and blazing vocals.  It all adds up to music of great dignity and depth.’
– Mail On Sunday   

“Natalie Merchant, 40-year career, frontwoman and main writer for 10,000 Maniacs, before a never less than beguiling solo career.  Just someone who you can trust to have put thought and care, as well as telling melody, into everything she does.”
– Mark Radcliffe, BBC Radio 2

“Keep Your Courage is transcendent… a brilliant and long-awaited return of Natalie’s unmistakable voice.”
– Michael Stipe, artist, singer-songwriter

“I have been a persistent fan of Natalie Merchant for several decades – but this may be the best album she has ever made.  With classically precise arrangements and production, elegantly poetic lyrics and emotionally stirring vocals she takes us on a unique and memorable journey.”
– Peter Asher, CBE, musician & producer