Laura Stevenson – “Torch Song”

Laura Stevenson – “Torch Song”

Laura Stevenson is such a badass that she named her new album Cocksure, slyly subverting a dick joke with the further wordplay of weaponry. Is it any surprise this album was written and arranged in the attic of a 19th-century Victorian house that formerly served as a brothel? Her wit isn’t the only thing worth praising, though: Stevenson has been steadily releasing a kind of mesmerizing, fierce folk-rock that’s singularly devastating, particularly 2013’s Wheel. She’s following that album this year with Cocksure, and “Torch Song” is the barn-burning first single off the record that premiered on SPIN today. It courses by on some ’90s alt-rock grunge fuzz, tumultuous and defiant but pulled back to Earth by Stevenson’s contrasting soft harmonies. Listen.

Here are her full tour dates for the fall:
10/14 Washington, DC @ Rock & Roll Hotel
10/15 Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle
10/16 Atlanta, GA @ Masquerade
10/17 Jacksonville, FL @ 1904 Music Hall
10/18 Tampa, FL @ New World Brewery
10/19 Orlando, FL @ The Social
10/21 New Orleans, LA @ House Of Blues Lounge
10/22 Houston, TX @ Rudyards
10/23 Dallas, TX @ Gas Monkey Bar & Grill
10/24 Austin, TX @ The North Door
10/26 Phoenix, AZ @ The Rebel Lounge
10/28 San Diego, CA @ The Casbah
10/29 Los Angeles, CA @ Echo
10/30 San Luis Obispo, CA @ SLO Brewing Co.
10/31 Sacramento, CA @ Harlow’s
11/01 San Francisco, CA @ Rickshaw Stop
11/03 Seattle, WA @ Tractor Tavern
11/04 Portland, OR @ Dante’s
11/06 Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Court
11/07 Denver, CO @ Hi-Dive
11/09 Des Moines, IA @ Vaudeville Mews
11/10 St. Paul, MN @ Turf Club
11/12 Chicago, IL @ Subterranean
11/13 Nashville, TN @ The High Watt
11/14 Akron, OH @ Musica
11/17 Columbus, OH @ Rumba Cafe
11/18 Philadelphia, PA @ The Foundry @ Fillmore
11/19 Boston, MA @ Middle East Downstairs
11/20 Kingston, NY @ BSP Kingston
11/21 New York, NY @ Webster Hall Marlin Room

Cocksure is out 10/30 via Don Giovanni. Pre-order it here.

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