Avalon Emerson & The Charm: Written Into Changes (Limited Edition) (Transparent Red Vinyl) (LP)

The versatile musician and producer Avalon Emerson & the Charm has announced her new album, *Written into Changes*, which will be released on Dead Oceans. *Written into Changes* is an album that isn’t just about accepting change, but about embracing it with open arms. Progress is a theme both on the album and behind the scenes, making “Written into Changes” a conscious approach to expression and life itself. The album is an autobiographical work and the result of five years of constant travel—including international DJ gigs and moves from Berlin to Los Angeles and New York. “Written into Changes” unfolds not only geographically but also over time. Today, Avalon offers a preview of the project with the single “Jupiter and Mars,” which was written and produced in collaboration with Rostam Batmanglij (formerly of Vampire Weekend). Change, they say, is the only thing in life that always stays the same. Fittingly, the versatile musician Avalon Emerson feels comfortable processing the constant changes in her life in “Written into Changes,” her second album, which she is releasing under the name Avalon Emerson & the Charm. The album is the result of intense creative work and revisions. The album’s themes—personal growth and the evolution of relationships—“only became clear once everything was finished,” says Emerson. The creation of “Changes” was, as it should be, quite different from that of “& the Charm.” While that album, as Emerson puts it, was “gentle and intimate,” this one is more energetic because Emerson carefully considered how the material would translate live. The result is a band-oriented yet groovy and danceable work. The track “Eden,” underpinned by breakbeats, has a baggy sound reminiscent of dance-rock hybrids from the late ’80s and early ’90s. The playful track “How Dare This Beer” was written as a loving homage to the Magnetic Fields. “For me, the years 1987 to 1994 are the best era in music,” says Emerson. “And Nathan and I have quite similar musical tastes.” Nathan is Nathan Jenkins, aka Bullion, who co-produced “& the Charm” and has now returned to take on the bulk of the follow-up album. Much of the recording took place in Braintree, England, during the winter and spring of 2024. The two tracks co-produced with Rostam Batmanglij (“Jupiter & Mars” and “Earth Alive”) were recorded in Los Angeles. Synth elements were added at the Synth Cabin at Rosen Sound in Glendale, California. Although the collaborative work on “Written into Changes” differs quite a bit from Emerson’s solo productions for the dance floor, the influence of dance music is felt throughout. Emerson focused particularly on the low end while working on her music. “The bass was definitely a priority,” she says. Emerson wrote the melodies and lyrics for “Written into Changes,” with the latter largely drawn from her personal life. “This time, my goal was to be a bit more direct with my lyrics,” she says. The title track, one of the artist’s favorites, is about her move from Berlin to Los Angeles in 2020. The frenetic “Happy Birthday” has a sunny vibe underscored by gently devastating lyrics like those in the chorus: “Too young to die / Too old to break through.” The track has already been tested in clubs—Emerson has incorporated it into her sets at venues like Panorama Bar at Berlin’s Berghain and Nowadays in Brooklyn. Both “Eden” and “Country Mouse” are odes to Emerson’s relationship with her wife Hunter, while “I Don’t Want to Fight” and “Earth Alive” deal with “realizing that you can’t change people and have to try to accept them as they are, and sometimes that means loving them from a distance,” she says. “Written into Changes” is an album that’s not just about accepting change, but embracing it with open arms. Progress is a theme both on the album and behind the scenes, making “Written into Changes” a conscious approach to expression and life itself.