Americana duo The Mastersons, aka Chris Masterson and Eleanor Whitmore, address the current state of the nation with their new song "Spellbound," premiering today with Billboard. They discuss the sentiments behind the track in an exclusive Billboard interview.
"Before we wrote the title track ["No Time For Love Songs"], we were thinking about 'What kind of record do you want to come out in the spring of 2020, a pivotal time for us as a nation and with so much going on in the world,'" Masterson tells the magazine. "So we started with that song, which is sort of tongue-in-cheek, and then just kept going. We tried to use our voice in a galvanizing way. We wanted to write something thought provoking but not polarizing, 'cause I think people largely want the same things -- a roof over their heads, food on their table, kids to be healthy. We just may have vastly different ideas of how to get there."
Whitmore adds, "I think that, honestly, there are so many powers that be that are dividing us. If you actually sit down and talk to somebody, even if they're on the other side of the fence as you, you still have an awful lot in common, more than we have differences."
The Mastersons, who now call Los Angeles home after stints in Austin, Brooklyn and Terlingua, Texas; recorded their upcoming release, NO TIME FOR LOVE SONGS at L.A.'s legendary Sunset Sound Recorders with Shooter Jennings. The album was engineered and mixed by five-time GRAMMY® Award-winning engineer, Ryan Freeland. Shooter had recruited The Mastersons to play on his albums Family Man (2012) and The Other Life (2013), and they'd recently reunited to work on Tanya Tucker's acclaimed comeback album While I'm Livin', which Jennings co-produced with Brandi Carlile.
"I do think geography comes into play when making records, and I think this record does have a SouthernCalifornia feel to it," Chris adds. "It also doesn't hurt to live in a city where so many talented people live. We have an amazing community of friends and collaborators that helped shape this album."
Those collaborators include Eleanor's sister Bonnie Whitmore, a notable songwriter and recording artist in her own right, who sang and played bass on the NO TIME FOR LOVE SONGS sessions, with bassist/keyboardist Tyler Chester (Andrew Bird, Sara Watkins, Madison Cunningham) and drummer Mark Stepro (Butch Walker, Ben Kweller, Jakob Dylan) rounding out the studio band. Longtime friend Aaron Lee Tasjan added background vocals on two songs.
NO TIME FOR LOVE SONGS explores the emotional challenges of a morally compromised era, and reflects the experiences that the pair has accumulated in their travels. Chris and Eleanor's new songs are also partially influenced by the loss of several people close to them, including Chris' father, who passed away just after the release of the Mastersons' 2014 album Good Luck Charm; friend and fellow musician Chris Porter; Austin musician and producer George Reiff, who played extensively with the Mastersons and produced their 2017 album Transient Lullaby. The pair also recently lost Dukes bassist Kelley Looney, with whom they toured and recorded for the past decade as members of Steve Earle's band.
"The changes in our country and in the world make us long for the people we've lost along the way," adds Chris. "Only by cataloging and acknowledging loss and grief can we move forward with gratitude for what we have."
With NO TIME FOR LOVE SONGS the duo also celebrates the tenth anniversary of their partnership and continue their creative journey, crafting a collection of songs that could easily serve as the soundtrack to our lives-or at least one version of it. Catch them on tour either headlining or with The Jayhawks (scroll down for complete dates).
Listen to "Spellbound" below.
TOUR DATES
# Dates are with THE JAYHAWKS
Mon, 17 Feb Nashville, TN - City Winery "WMOT Wired In" w/Jesse Dayton
Sun, 23 Feb Charleston, WV - NPR Mountain Stage at Culture Center Theater
Sat, 29 Feb Solana Beach, CA - Belly Up Tavern w/ Steve Poltz
Thu, 5 Mar Homer, NY - Center for the Arts of Homer #
Fri, 6 Mar New York, NY - Brooklyn Bowl #
Sat, 7 Mar New York, NY - Brooklyn Bowl #
Sun, 8 Mar Northampton, MA - Academy Of Music Theatre #
Tue, 10 Mar New Haven, CT - Cafe Nine
Wed, 11 Mar Providence, RI - Askew Bistro & Entertainment Venue
Thu, 12 Mar Boston, MA - City Winery Boston
Fri, 13 Mar Philadelphia County, PA - The Locks at Sona
Sat, 14 Mar Washington, DC - Hill Country DC
Mon, 16 Mar Austin, TX - Waterloo Records In-store
Wed, 18 Mar Austin, TX - SXSW
Thu, 19 Mar Austin, TX - SXSW
Fri, 20 Mar Austin, TX - SXSW
Sat, 21 Mar Austin, TX - SXSW
Sun, 22 Mar Houston, TX - Cactus Music
Tue, 24 Mar Houston, TX - McGonigel's Mucky Duck
Wed, 25 Mar Galveston, TX - Old Quarter Acoustic Cafe
Thu, 26 Mar Austin, TX - Cactus Cafe
Fri, 27 Mar Tulsa, OK - Mercury Lounge
Sat, 28 Mar Fort Worth, TX - The Post at River East
Sun, 29 Mar Oklahoma City, OK - Ponyboy
Tue, 31 Mar Kansas City, MO - Knuckleheads Saloon
Thu 2 Apr Memphis, TN - Hernando's Hideaway
Sun, 5 Apr Nashville, TN -- The Basement
Mon, 6 Apr Lexington, KY - Lyric Theatre Woodsongs Old Time Radio
Wed 8 Apr Macon, GA - Rookery
Sun 12 Apr Decatur, GA - Eddie's Attic
Wed 15 Apr Minneapolis, MN - The Hook and Ladder
Thu, 16 Apr Iowa City, IA - Englert Theatre #
Fri, 17 Apr Milwaukee, WI - Turner Hall Ballroom #
Sat, 18 Apr Chicago, IL - Old Town School of Folk Music #
Sun, 19 Apr Chicago, IL - Old Town School of Folk Music #
Wed, 6 May Dallas, TX - Granada Theater #
Thu, 7 May San Antonio, TX - Sam's Burger Joint #
Fri, 8 May Austin, TX - 3TEN ACL Live #
Sat, 9 May Austin, TX - 3TEN ACL Live #
Sun, 10 May House of Blues Houston - Houston, TX #
