With a flutter of gentle piano notes and strings, Andy Shauf has released “Wasted on You,” the first single off his newly announced album Norm. Out Feb. 10, 2023, on ANTI-, this LP seems to bring a slight change in style for the musician, as he reworks the gentle folk and pop harmonies he is known for, bringing hints of jazz into the mix. Shauf self-produced the LP, and played every instrument, creating this body of work in the early days of the pandemic, and challenging himself every step of the way. The album tells the story of a character named Norm. The musician warns, “The character of Norm is introduced in a really nice way. But the closer you pay attention to the record, the more you’re going to realize that it’s sinister.”
Hearing the singer’s familiar subdued timbre on this latest track instantly infuses you with the comfort and warmth of familiarity, while the musical arrangements push his boundaries with a dancing lightness. But in typical Shauf style, not everything is quite as it appears, as the repeating lyrics hold a heavier side to them. “Was all my love wasted on you?” he asks himself over and over again, trying to get to the root of an issue he can’t quite understand. The piano tinkles pleasantly over the track, but begins to take on the feeling of falling, rather than a pleasant melodic anchor. He starts the song by asking, “What happens when they die?,” a query that at first sounds lightly curious, but increasingly takes on the hard metal edge of anxiety—after all, this is Shauf we’re talking about. It opens up the mystery of the album, one that we’ll have to wait until February to fully begin dissecting.
See the video for the new single (dir. V Haddad, and featuring God and Jesus as main characters), Shauf’s 2020 Paste Studio session, the details of Norm and Shauf’s tour dates, all below.
Norm Tracklist:
01. Wasted On You
02. Catch Your Eye
03. Telephone
04. You Didn’t See
05. Paradise Cinema
06. Norm
07. Halloween Store
08. Sunset
09. Daylight Dreaming
10. Long Throw
11. Don’t Let It Get To You
12. All Of My Love
Norm Art:
Andy Shauf Tour Dates
November
18 – Mexico City, MX @ Corona Capital
January 2023
20 – Fredericton, NB @ Shivering Songs (Solo)
21 – Halifax, NS @ Light House Arts Centre (Solo)
February 2023
21 – Columbus, OH @ Skully’s
22 – Nashville, TN @ The Basement East
24 – Ft. Worth, TX @ Tulips
25 – Austin, TX @ Scoot Inn
26 – Oklahoma City, OK @ Beer City Music Hall
28 – Phoenix, AZ – Crescent Ballroom
March 2023
01 – Santa Ana, CA @ Observatory OC
02 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Belasco
03 – San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall
07 – Portland, OR @ Revolution Hall
08 – Seattle, WA @ Crocodile
10 – Victoria, BC @ Royal Theatre
11 – Vancouver, BC @ The Orpheum
12 – Kelowna, BC @ Kelowna Community Theatre
14 – Edmonton, AB @ Winspear Centre
15 – Calgary, AB @ Jack Singer Concert Hall
16 – Saskatoon, SK @ TCU Place
17 – Winnipeg, MB @ Burton Cummings Theatre
18 – Minneapolis, MN @ Cedar Cultural Center
22 – Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall
April 2023
20 – Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Steel
21 – Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer
22 – Saxapahaw, NC @ Haw River Ballroom
24 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
26 – Boston, MA @ Royale
27 – Burlington, VT @ Higher Ground
28 – Ottawa, ON @ The Bronson Centre
29 – Montreal, QC @ L’Olympia
May 2023
2 – London, ON @ London Music Hall
3 – St. Catharines, ON @ FirstOntario Place
4 – Kitchener, ON @ Centre in The Square
5 – Toronto, ON @ Massey Hall
