Rachael Sage Releases Cover of Howard Jones's NO ONE IS TO BLAME + New Album Out 5/4

Hot off her seven-week tour with synth legend Howard Jones, singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer Rachael Sage has released her cover of Jones' song "No One Is To Blame" via Billboard. The track appears on her forthcoming album, "Myopia," out May 4 via MPress Records. Listen and share "No One Is To Blame" and pre-order the album via Pledge Music.

"I am absolutely thrilled with Rachael's version of 'No One Is To Blame.' She has really put her own original stamp on the song. Rachael is such a great artist to be touring with. Hearing her open for me every night on my US one-man show was a blast." - Howard Jones

Sage tells Billboard: "'No One Is To Blame' has long been one of my favorite songs, and was a very big influence on me in my youth. I remember being immediately captivated by the video and identifying strongly with Howard Jones' sensitivity, along with the universality of his lyrics which were much 'deeper' than anything else on the radio at the time. I've always admired pop music that balances a beautiful melody with a poignant, positive message, and in revisiting this song, I felt that the questions it poses about blame and responsibility are more relevant than ever."

Sonically, "Myopia" is a bold departure for Sage, with a much stronger emphasis on her guitar playing over her usual piano palette, with inventive contributions by Hoboken-based guitarist James Mastro (Patti Smith, Ian Hunter) who Sage affectionately calls "the king of wah." Produced by Sage and her longtime engineer John Shyloski, "Myopia" was recorded last summer at Carriage House Studios in Stamford, CT as well as at Sage's home studio in NYC's East Village, and you can feel the swelter. The heavily electronic "Haunted By Objects" - on which Sage plays Moog synthesizer - describes the psyche of a hoarder whose only potential recourse may be to set everything on fire, while "This Darkness", a bluesy lamentation about the Dakota Pipeline, reflects the urgency and courage of Native Americans' resistance to environmental desecration; the enemy in the dark is indifference, the iciest kind of blindness.

Sage explains: "This is a warm-weather record. These are songs about getting out there, thawing things out, and unearthing the truth. Sometimes you can't do that in the dead of winter. But when the sun is shining, even the murkiest future appears hopeful."

Full tour routing can be found below and via Sage's website.

To post a comment, you must register and login.