Video: Nikki Glaser and Kate Walsh Among Featured Women in Anya Marina's New Lyric Video 'Girl Shit'

Acclaimed singer-songwriter Anya Marina has shared the lyric video for “Girl s” via Good Rope Records. Physical pre-orders for her upcoming album Asteroid on vinyl, CD, and bundles are now available as well. In the song, Marina sings about girls growing up and growing strong over a compilation of childhood photos featuring some of the most treasured women in Marina’s life including actress and bestie Kate Walsh, comedian Nikki Glaser, her sister, mother, grandmother, and many longtime friends and childhood companions.

Around the onset of the pandemic, like a lot of us who were feeling isolated and disconnected, Marina started to participate in regular group chats. For Marina, those group chats included many of the women featured in her new lyric video. One group in particular, started by Nikki Glaser and dubbed “Girls Chat,” became a creative community for Marina:

“I was in a songwriting group, headed by Austin, Texas-based songwriter Bob Schneider, wherein he would give us a prompt every week. One week the prompt was ‘girl s.’ I quickly wrote an ode to girlhood and to these inspiring, hilarious, deep, wise women in my life, and sent it to the GC.

I immediately got such great feedback from Nikki et al that I continued. Soon the demo turned into a fully fleshed out song and I recorded it in Woodstock with my producer Kevin Salem.”

Anya Marina’s new album Asteroid arrives via Good Rope Records on October 25th. With Asteroid, Marina feels comfortable in her own skin at last, excited to begin again. “Something about these songs feels young,” she says. “I’m finally learning how to take care of myself, how to say no to certain things, how to be more involved in the recording process. I wanted to make the album of my life. And I’ve done that, hands down.”

About Asteroid:

Asteroid is Anya Marina’s her most assured work yet. Almost two decades into a distinctive career encompassing songs featured in Twilight: New Moon, Gossip Girl, and Grey’s Anatomy, an award-winning web series (Anya Marina: Indie-pendent Woman), seven albums, three EPs, and extensive touring with artists ranging from Jason Mraz to Spoon to superstar standup Nikki Glaser, the riveting performer / creative powerhouse is looking back, taking stock in song. Marina calls Asteroid “a coming-of-age story about a late bloomer. This record is about growing up, becoming fully who I am, and celebrating it.

Newly married and recently landed in Kingston, NY, Marina crafted Asteroid’s songs from a newfound, and welcome, stability. Prior to this, she says, “I didn’t really have a safe, steady vantage point.” Although rich in adventure, Marina’s journey hasn’t been an easy one: moves from San Diego to Portland to New York City, and now Kingston, accompanied by heartbreak and emotional turmoil, well-documented in song. The assertive, wise Asteroid – her first studio album since Covid lockdown – finds her feeling “free of things that were pulling me down, getting in my way.”

Marina says all the work of getting from there to here – including sobriety, meditation, and especially long walks – has paid off: “I’ve written a lot of songs on walks, even some of the first I ever wrote,” she says. “Something about the rhythm and cadence of a walking beat.” 

Most of Asteroid came fast on the heels of Marina’s relocation to the Hudson Valley. What she describes as “melodies that sound like strange Disney album B-sides, or bizzarro cousins of cabaret, classical music, Bossa nova, or jazz,” arrived quickly, “like tuning into a faraway frequency on a radio dial.” These include the hypnotic waltz “Where the Darkness Is,” on which Marina pledges to – actually prefers to – connect with someone during trouble: “Where the failure starts / I’ll meet you where things fall apart / I need it.” The beautiful, Beatles-y “London Blues” also came fast. “The entire melody of the song – even the feeling of it and how it should be sung – just arrived one day, unprompted. I’m so glad I recorded it into my phone before falling asleep.”

Whereas Marina’s previous studio release Queen of the Night (2020) was recorded piecemeal over months and featured layers of synthetic sound, Asteroid came together quickly, mostly in the Woodstock, NY barn studio of producer / guitarist Kevin Salem (Rachael Yamagata, Mike Doughty), who favors a more organic, spare approach. Acoustic guitar – Marina’s onstage weapon of choice – abounds: aggressively strummed on the rocking “Waiting for a Difference,” head-bopping funky on “Gimme Sugar,” delicately picked on the lovelorn “London Blues.”

The deft humor in much of Asteroid is no accident. Touring since 2019 with friend and former roommate, comedian Nikki Glaser, has made a big difference in Marina’s life, both personally and artistically. “Opening for Nikki has made me a better performer and songwriter,” Marina says. “I’ve learned to crystallize things better, get to the point. Playing to 2,000 comedy fans can be very daunting. It will whip you into shape fast. I love it.”

Ahead of the Asteroid’s October release, Marina is supporting comedian Nikki Glaser on her sold-out Alive and Unwell Tour. For a current list of dates see below. Additional dates will be announced soon and for updates, please visit HERE.

ANYA MARINA LIVE 2024

*All Dates w/ Nikki Glaser: Alive and Unwell Tour Except September 22, co-headline with Matt Pond PA in Portland OR

AUGUST

16 - Springfield, MO - Juanita K Hammons Hall for the Performing Arts

17 - Cape Girardeau, MO - Century Casino Cape Girardeau - 7pm

17 - Cape Girardeau, MO - Century Casino Cape Girardeau - 9:30pm

23 - Battle Creek, MI - FireKeepers Casino Hotel

24 - Battle Creek, MI - FireKeepers Casino Hotel

SEPTEMBER

20 - Lincoln, CA - Thunder Valley Casino Resort

21 - Modesto, CA - Gallo Center For The Arts - 4PM

21 - Modesto, CA - Gallo Center For The Arts - 7PM

22 - Portland, OR - Mississippi Studios - co-headline w Matt Pond

OCTOBER

11 - Syracuse, NY - Oncenter Crouse Hinds

12 - Hershey, PA - Hershey Theatre

13 - Hershey, PA - Hershey Theatre

24 - Ft Lauderdale, FL - Au-Rene Theatre at Broward Ctr For Performing Arts

25 - Ft Lauderdale, FL - Au-Rene Theatre at Broward Ctr For Performing Arts

26 - Fort Myers, FL - Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts - 7PM

26- Fort Myers, FL - Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts - 9:30PM

NOVEMBER

1 - Oklahoma City, OK - The Criterion

2 - Tulsa, OK - Tulsa Theatre

8 - Grand Prairie, TX - Texas Trust CU Theatre

9 - Des Moines, IA - Hoyt Sherman Place - 7PM

9 - Des Moines, IA - Hoyt Sherman Place - 9:30PM

10 - Des Moines, IA - Hoyt Sherman Place - 7PM

14 - Wilmington, NC - Wilson Center at Cape Fear

15- Wilmington, NC - Wilson Center at Cape Fear

16 - Greenville, SC - Peace Concert Hall - Peace Center

22 - Birmingham, AL - Alabama Theatre

23 - Memphis, TN - Orpheum Theatre

DECEMBER

12 - Concord, NH - Chubb Theatre

13 - Concord, NH - Chubb Theatre - 7PM

13 - Concord, NH - Chubb Theatre - 9:30PM

14 - Burlington, VT - Flynn Center for the Performing Arts - 7PM

14 - Burlington, VT - Flynn Center for the Performing Arts - 9:30PM

27 - Austin, TX - Austin City Limits Live at the Moody Theatre

28 - Nashville, TN - Ryman Auditiorium

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