Karen Elson Releases Third Studio Album 'Green'

Today, the acclaimed singer-songwriter, author, entrepreneur, advocate, and supermodel Karen Elson releases her highly-anticipated new album, GREEN, via Big Yellow Dog Music. Co-written and co-produced with the GRAMMY® Award-winning team of Daniel Tashian and Ian Fitchuk (Kacey Musgraves' Golden Hour and star-crossed), Elson's third studio album includes such highly acclaimed singles as "Lightning Strikes," "Green," and "Broken Shadow."

"When you hear the record, I want you to feel like it's springtime, the sun's coming up again, the leaves are turning green, and there's hope in the air," she continues. "2021 was a year of reckoning. I've been finding myself for real, discovering what makes me tick, and taking a chance on who it is I am. Now, it's time for me to run down the road, life live to the fullest, and see what happens."

GREEN, which follows 2010's The Ghost Who Walks and 2017's Double Roses, as well as Elson's 2020 EP, Radio Redhead, Vol.1, finds the British-born, Nashville-based artist taking her songwriting in a lighter, more joyful direction. Written and recorded amid the pandemic, the album served as a refuge for Elson.

"I needed some sunlight," she recalls. "My songs usually have a darker undercurrent. I wanted a silver lining with an effervescent quality that was a contradiction to the heavy period we were in. The album was written to feel like medicine in the form of a bottle of sunshine."

That sentiment extends to the three songs which led the album, including the jubilant "Lighting Strikes," which arrived last summer as the soundtrack to Moschino's inventive Resort 2022 campaign, Moschino: The Musical. Helmed by the fashion house's creative director Jeremy Scott, the colorful visual starred Elson as the face of the campaign.

More recently, Elson teased the record with the ethereal "Broken Shadow" and the languid "Green," drawing a warm reception from an array of outlets, including Stereogum, Financial Times, The Guardian, NME, Nylon, and Spin, which praised the former track as "an inviting, country-pop song. But as the title suggests, that charming melody papers over deeper emotional territory."

The song also appears in the new HBO Max film, Moonshot, starring Lana Condor and Cole Sprouse. Additionally, the soundtrack includes two more Elson originals: "Wild Blue" and "Heaven Shines a Light," the latter of which is performed by rising singer-songwriter, Cyn.

Alongside GREEN's first three singles, the album includes such stunning tracks as opener "My Sparrow," described by the artist as "a declaration of love." Elson later revisits the song in Portuguese ("Passarinho"), while she offers a French version of the album's title track ("Vert").

The instrumental "Fergus in the Sun," meanwhile, is a love song of a different sort, written as a tribute to her late ginger tomcat, Fergus. The wistful "Wishing Well" was inspired by classic standards from The Great American Songbook. "Listening to Audrey Hepburn's 'Moon River' was one of the most beautiful experiences [during quarantine]," recalls Elson. "Its simplicity and hope is exactly what I wanted to capture in this album."

Other highlights include "Modern Love," which marks a stylistic departure for Elson. "This is my hilarious take on how instantaneous the world of relationships, flirting, and seduction is because of social media and dating apps," she explains. "I had a lot of experiences as a single woman.... While I'm in a serious relationship now, in order to get to a place where I could welcome that into my life, I had to go on a wild ride in matters of the heart." Another autobiographical song is "Silver Lining," in which the artist sings a hopeful message to herself.

"It was a poetic moment of being on the summit and thinking, 'Okay, I'm all good. I'm going to get through this,'" she reveals. "When I sing it, I feel like I'm wrapped in a warm sweater with the sun on my face."

Rounding out the album is "Look Over My Shoulder," which found Elson reflecting on the reciprocity of friendships-and how her closest relationships helped her through the most trying of times. "There's sweetness in there, but also a sense of aching," she notes. "I'm saying, 'It's going to be a long road. It's going to be a long time until we're home free, so watch over my heart'.

Listen to the new single here: