The Minnesota-born, Florida-raised, NYC-based artist Breanna Barbara’s 2nd album - ‘Nothin’ But Time - is a raw and immersive trip through the sounds of psychedelic rock and blues, anchored by her forceful vocals and unforgettable songwriting. Sporting a sound that feels classic and of-the-moment at the same time, Nothin’ But Time is the next chapter in Barbara’s exciting career, cementing her as an artist who’s committed to plumbing new emotional depths as she bursts through every sonic barrier put in her way.
She also shares lead single and album opener ‘Diamond Light’, with an accompanying video, which features rolling drums and miles-long guitar lines, as Barbara’s sublime voice cuts through the atmosphere while ruminating on nostalgia and the perils of looking back.
Nothin But Time arrives following Breanna’s 2016 debut Mirage Dreams, a trio of critically acclaimed singles (most recently ‘New Moon’) and a number of collaborations with legendary trip-hop vanguard Tricky. As well as joining his US touring band as lead female vocalist, Breanna also did an official rework of his 'When We Die' track and featured on the 2021 Lonely Guest album, False Idols.
For the recording of Nothin’ But Time Barbara and her band returned to Nashville’s Bomb Shelter studio with Andrija Tokic (Alabama Shakes, Hurray For The Riff Raff) – with whom she recorded Mirage Dreams. With musical contributions from Jack Lawrence (The Dead Weather), Tall Juan, Derry DeBorja (Jason Isbell), and Champagne Superchillin’s Ben Trimble and Charles Garmendia, the album was put to tape in the months prior to the COVID-19 pandemic: “I’d learned so much since the last time we were in the studio that I knew I could have a stronger voice getting back into the studio again.”
Nothin’ But Time reflects Barbara’s headlong journey into the world of psychedelic rock and pop, mixing these heady styles with her already established hard-driving blues-rock approach with warped theremin tones as well as celestial vibes courtesy of DeBorja’s own synth wizardry, as Barbara and her band sought out to create mind-expanding music that’s also firmly rooted in the real.
There’s the organ-rich ecstasy of “You Got Me High” and the hair-raising, Cat Power-recalling intimacy of “Devil”; “Me Too” is a searing rumination on the patriarchy’s oppressiveness over punchy strings, while opener “Diamond Light” features rolling drums and miles-long guitar lines, as Barbara’s voice cuts through the atmosphere while ruminating on nostalgia and the perils of looking back. “We can look at things so beautifully, but in hindsight they have another facet to them,” she explains regarding the lyrical perspective.
Over the driving beat of “Landslide,” Barbara zooms in on the ways that fate affects our daily living, and the complications that come from taking the wheel yourself. “I’ve been trying to trust my intuition more as I get older,” she explains. “I’m very impressionable, so I find it best for me to focus when there’s nothing else around to influence my decision.” Then there’s the howling title track, which takes on the heavy subject matter of facing down death itself.
“Death has always been something that’s hung over my head,” Barbara ruminates while discussing the song. “The idea that we have nothing but time makes me want to throw everything in the air, but I also want to hold on to everything so tightly that I don’t want to move forward.” And ‘Nothin’ But Time’ is defined by such honest self-expressions—a fearlessness that’s at the core of her artistic outlook and overall way of being. “I’m all about not being afraid of your own voice,” Barbara states. “The way out of the hardest times is deep within you. You are enough.”
Dinked Edition:
- Clear + Blue Marble LP*
- Flexi-Disc with Bonus Track (‘Mediterranean Blue’)*
- Hand Numbered*
- Gatefold Sleeve
- Holographic Foil Spot-Printing
- Printed Inner Sleeve
- Limited pressing of 400*
*EXCLUSIVE to Dinked Edition