Mara Connor Announces 'Decades' EP

Los Angeles native Mara Connor has announced the Decades EP, due May 20, 2021. The EP features five cover songs, one per decade from the 1950s-1990s. Mara already shared the EP's 1950s cut, a Twin Peaks-inspired cover of "Ain't That a Shame," back in February on Fats Domino's birthday (which Flood Magazine called "brilliant" and praised for its dark twist on the original).

Now, with the announcement of the forthcoming EP, Mara is pleased to share her 1960s cover, a striking rendition of cult favorite songwriter Jackson C. Frank's "Blues Run the Game." The track debuted via Under The Radar, who called it "a worthy tribute to the heartbreaking original classic," adding that "even in the midst of the rich new instrumentation, Connor captures the original's indelible contrast of unforgettable melody and tragic emotional weight." Hear it below.

Mara first heard of Jackson C. Frank while working at Brooklyn indie label Ba Da Bing Records, who released a box set of Frank's discography along with a biography on his tragic life ("The Clear Hard Light of Genius"), which Mara edited. Over the years, "Blues Run the Game" has been covered by the likes of Simon & Garfunkel (Simon produced Frank's eponymous 1965 album) and Nick Drake, typically in its original style of a traditional folk ballad. Mara gave it a less conventional spin, choosing to contrast the song's somber lyrics with a more dynamic, electric arrangement while still keeping the song in the world of the 1960s, using instruments like twelve-string guitar and organ. The song was recorded to tape at The Bomb Shelter (pre-pandemic) in East Nashville with producer Andrija Tokic (Alabama Shakes, Margo Price) and accompanists Dave Racine and Jon Estes, the same team behind Mara's acclaimed debut single "No Fun" (which Rolling Stone named a "Song You Need to Know").

"Since I discovered Jackson C. Frank, I've felt a deep connection to him and his music," Connor says. "He became a fixture in my life...I'd recount his life story to strangers at parties and share his songs with new friends... I covered "Blues Run the Game" at my very first shows in New York. The blues really did run the game for him, but he poured it all into his music. It's a miracle he was able to create such beauty out of such tragedy."

Decades is a collection of five covers spanning over fifty years. Each cover belongs to a different decade, from Fats Domino's "Ain't That A Shame" (1955) and Jackson C. Frank's "Blues Run the Game" (1965) to Neil Young's "Old Man" (1972), Kath Bloom's "Come Here" (1984) and Elliott Smith's "Ballad of Big Nothing" (1997). The songs were recorded across the US, in New York City, Nashville and Los Angeles (mostly pre-pandemic, in home studios and on apartment floors).

For Mara, this EP was an excuse to work with some of her favorite collaborators and friends (whose credits include The National, Sharon Van Etten, Kacey Musgraves, Elliott Smith and Alabama Shakes) and an experiment in reinventing and breathing new life into some of her favorite songs of the 20th century. This EP is also Mara's producing debut, as she co-produced two of the songs ("Come Here" and "Ballad of Big Nothing").

Connor's LA roots shine through her songs, which are drenched in the sound and spirit of Southern California and harken back to a bygone era of music. Her debut single "No Fun" was lauded by Rolling Stone (as a "Song You Need to Know" and playlisted with Neil Young and St. Vincent), and was also named Buzzbands' No. 1 Favorite Song of The Year. Connor's follow-up duet with Langhorne Slim, "Someone New," premiered via Consequence of Sound, and was named one of Rolling Stone's "10 Best Country and Americana Songs to Hear Now" (along with Lukas Nelson and Mavis Staples). Her third single "Wildfire" was praised by American Songwriter, who deemed her an "indie folk goddess." Connor made her SXSW debut in 2019 and was called one of the "12 Best Up-and-Coming Artists at SXSW" (along with Yola) by Greg Kot of The Chicago Tribune.

Listen here:

Photo Credit: Schuyler Howie

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