Beginning in 2010 cellist and vocalist Neyla Pekarek became one of the strongest additions in folk rock force The Lumineers, but only recently wandered off to illuminate her own path. Pekarek spent the last two years touring with The Lumineers while writing her debut solo album, only now defying built-in success to pursue music on her own.
Inspired by her 20th century home state hero of Rattlesnake Kate, Pekarek’s narrative first-person lyrics on the upcoming Rattlesnake LP are light and quirky, while her arrangements and performances are seriously spectacular. Pekarek’s frontier flourishes on Rattlesnake are emboldened by producer M. Ward and you can hear the full record tomorrow! Neyla joins us at the Scoot Inn on Saturday, February 2nd and in case you just want to coil up somewhere cool ’til then, we’ve some sonic snake oil to wrap your scales around: “The Attack”!
–Jack Anderson
Photo: Liza Nelson