New Zealand-born singer and songwriter Brooke Fraser will release her third album, Flags, on October 12 on Wood and Bone Records. The new record was recorded in Los Angeles at EastWest Studios and was produced by the artist. A full U.S. tour has been finalized for November and December, where she’ll perform in legendary venues such as The Parish in Austin, Highline Ballroom in NYC and the El Rey in Los Angeles.
Flags is a dreamy, alternative-pop collection that showcases her agile soprano, lilting melodies, and knack for telling her stories through the lives of vibrant characters on songs like “Betty,” (co-written with Switchfoot’s Jon Foreman and Ben West of Detroit indie duo The Real Efforts of Real People), “Crows and Locusts,” “Jack Kerouac,” and “Ice on Her Lashes.” “I’ve never used as many characters or as much narrative in my songwriting as I have on this record,” Fraser says. “On my previous albums [2003’s What To Do With Daylight and 2008’s Albertine], I was singing completely as myself, which is why I think I got so burnt out from touring. Albertine was inspired by incredibly significant events and people and every time I’d sing I’d go back to that moment where my heart was ripped open. So singing such heavy songs nearly every night for three years took a toll. On Flags, it’s still me speaking, but it’s me speaking through the voices of different characters and their stories. It’s more survivable.” The album also features a co-written duet with Aqualung’s Matt Hales, titled “Who Are We Fooling?”
In 2002, when she was 18, Fraser signed with Sony Music and moved to Auckland where she played regularly at local venues while she wrote the songs that would appear on her debut album, What To Do With Daylight. That album, released in New Zealand in 2003, debuted at No. 1 and achieved gold status the same week. It eventually went eight times platinum, selling more than 120,000 copies in New Zealand alone, and remained in the Top 10 on the album charts for more than a year. The album spawned five Top 20 singles and made Fraser a star in her home country, leading to 2004 tours of Australia and New Zealand with John Mayer and David Bowie.
In 2005, Brooke took a trip to Rwanda, 11 years after a genocide that claimed the lives of nearly one million people. During the journey, she met and befriended a number of Rwandans who entrusted their stories to her, including an orphan named Albertine, the namesake of her second album, which was released in the U.S. in May 2008. After being featured on the iTunes homepage as an “Editor’s Choice” selection, Albertine entered the Billboard Top 100 chart and climbed to No. 5 on the digital retailer’s U.S. album chart. Fraser toured the States that fall, winning over audiences with her dry wit and warm stage presence.
BROOKE FRASER U.S. TOUR DATES
Nov 9 - Houston, TX - House of Blues Bronze Peacock
Nov 10 - Austin, TX - The Parish
Nov 12 - Dallas, TX - House of Blues – Cambridge Room
Nov 13 - Birmingham, AL - WorkPlay Theatre
Nov 14 - Nashville, TN - Belcourt Theatre
Nov 15 - Atlanta, GA - Variety Playhouse
Nov 17 - Vienna, VA - Jammin Java Music Club & Café
Nov 18 - Washington, DC - DC9
Nov 19 - New York, NY - Highline Ballroom
Nov 20 - Boston. MA - Café 939 at Berklee
Nov 21 - Philadelphia, PA - World Café Live
Nov 23 - Toronto, ONT - The Mod Club Theatre
Nov 24 - Chicago, IL - Lincoln Hall
Dec 2 - Los Angeles, CA - El Rey Theatre
Dec 5 - San Francisco, CA - Café Du Nord
Dec 7 - Portland, OR - Doug Fir Lounge
Dec 8 - Seattle, WA - Triple Door
Dec 9 - Vancouver, BC - Venue
