“A Case Of You” is the new single from eclectic Nashville pop artist Tristen, out this October via Modern Outsider. A cover of the classic Joni Mitchell track, Tristen — known for her ability to wield “ear-tugging melodies with hidden hooks” (Rolling Stone) — honors the original with her own distinct spin.
Buy / Stream here: https://smarturl.it/tristenacaseofyou
Hailing from Nashville, Tenn.’s rollicking roots-rock scene, Tristen has established herself as a prolific, versatile musician over the past decade, be it by touring in Jenny Lewis’s Voyager-era band, collaborating and touring with artists like Vanessa Carlton and Robyn Hitchcock, or releasing three solo albums to critical acclaim. Her folk-oriented 2011 debut Charlatans at the Garden Gate earned her praise as “Nashville’s best-kept secret” (The Boston Globe), while 2013’s CAVES, co-produced by Stephen Hague, saw her recast as a hypnotic “synth pop siren” (SPIN). Her most recent album, Sneaker Waves, was released via Modern Outsider in 2017; Rolling Stone described it as having “Nilsson-worthy power balladry,” while NPR’s Ann Powers called it “bursting with great melodies and hooky arrangements that tickle the ear and won’t leave your brain alone.” A serenade with a bite, Tristen's live band features her husband and collaborator, Buddy Hughen — who co-produced Sneaker Waves — on shredding electric guitar, as well as rotating cast of Nashville's finest as her rhythm section.
With an eclectic, genre-bending catalog, Tristen consistently delivers the unexpected, always zigging when we think she’s about to zag. Things are never quite what they seem; jaunty pop melodies pull you into darker, more contemplative lyrics just below the surface. Tristen’s take on “A Case Of You” is no exception.
“It’s a pretty ambitious task to take on Joni Mitchell; her songs are so uniquely hers,” Tristen acknowledges. “She embodies every songwriter's dream: to be incredibly unique, forward thinking, and still understood. She pulls you into her honesty and clarity, into very personal details of her romantic failures crystal clear — a unique story or character you have the privilege of tuning into — all while giving you a familiar feeling: alone in a bar, homesick, missing someone.”
Tristen and Hughen — who produced and played all the instruments on the track — keep Mitchell’s indelible melody, but tenderly move her heartbreaking lyrics from their soft ballad past, pairing them instead with a glistening midtempo groove. In doing so, they bestow a new sense of urgency to the song’s yearning, the result of which is deliciously so bitter and so sweet.