Natalia Zukerman's New Album COME THIEF, COME FIRE Out Today

Brooklyn-based singer/songwriter Natalia Zukerman returns with her sixth studio album Come Thief, Come Fire, out today, September 16th on Talisman Records. The follow up to 2011's Gas Station Roses, which No Depression called "a rare treat," Zukerman's latest offering expands on her craft, while seeing her explore new sonic territories, and all the while delivering her most immediate, heartfelt and compelling release to date.

The new album talks a lot about the process of regrowth and embracing change, even enacting it to make room for positive motion forward. "At some point, it seems, we all start to notice our patterns, our habits," notes Zukerman, in talking with Jami Smith of SheWired. "Some of these patterns are the way we've developed to cope with the world and navigate our relationships and they've worked really well, protected us and gotten us through. But some of them keep us stuck. I was, and still am, in the place of shedding some of the patterns that don't work for me anymore. It's not always pretty but it's good work if you're willing to do it! Gotta literally burn things down in order for new growth. That's how I see this record- it's a character that is going through that process. For better and for worse."

The new album Come Thief, Come Fire initially began as two separate EPs - one raw, acoustic and stripped-down and the other lush and cinematic - but it soon morphed into a single album, anchored by the concept of fire as both destroyer and generator. In its elemental form, fire leaves wreckage where once there was order and harmony; however, it also serves the purpose of providing space for new growth in the wake of devastation.

"It's this paradox that I really wanted to explore musically and lyrically on Come Thief, Come Fire," writes Zukerman. Songs like "I Don't Feel It Anymore" and "Courage To Change" wrestle with the feeling of stasis, and the realization that you've watched opportunities pass without taking the reins of your life and happiness. These moments of introspection and vulnerability are countered with flashes of fervent action, harnessing wild energy to grow and thrive. Sonically, the album grows and builds, like a fire, from start to finish.

Zukerman notes, "'Courage To Change', the first track, really felt like the perfect introduction to that dialogue to me. It really represents the sonic development of this record. The way that an underpainting provides the armature for the completed canvas, we used elements of the more stripped-down songs to build the sonic world that the more produced songs, like 'Hero', 'Give', and 'One Of Us' live in. Luckily, I think the songs stand on their own individually but when put together, there is a world that is created. My hope is that people get lost inside of this world. And then find things they didn't even know they were missing."

NATALIA ZUKERMAN
Come Thief, Come Fire

1. Courage To Change
2. Jane Avril
3. Bucket
4. I Don't Feel It Anymore
5. The Hunter
6. Come Thief
7. One Of Us
8. What Comes After
9. The Light Is Gone
10. Give
11. Hero
12. Please Don't

About Natalia Zukerman:
Natalia Zukerman grew up in New York City, studied art at Oberlin, worked in mural arts in San Francisco, began her songwriting career in Boston, and now resides, writes, plays and paints in Brooklyn, NY. The daughter of classical musicians Eugenia and Pinchas Zukerman, Natalia found her sound in other strings - those on slide guitar, lap steel, dobro. She found kinship in the earthiness and honesty of folk, bluegrass, jazz and blues music.

Since 2001, Zukerman has released five studio albums and one live album - 2013's Gypsies & Clowns, which was recorded live at SPACE in Evanston, IL. For the shows, Zukerman invited a big group of her musical friends to present over twenty songs from her catalogue, including the well-known tracks "Gas Station Roses," "Brand New Frame" and "Howard Hughes."

Gypsies & Clowns typifies Zukerman's artistic process, in that she's a frequent collaborator on projects from fellow musicians such as Janis Ian, Willy Porter, Susan Werner, Melissa Ferrick, Erin McKeown, AG and Garrison Starr. She also joined with well-known folk singer/songwriters Anne Heaton, Antje Duvekot and Meg Hutchinson for an album in 2009, titled Winterbloom, which they also named the band. They tour throughout November and December, offering both original and traditional songs inspired by winter. Zukerman has also performed at such festivals as Lilith Fair, Telluride Bluegrass Festival, Philadelphia Folk Fest, Michigan Womyns Fest, Rocky Mountain Folk Fest and more. Her new album Come Thief, Come Fire is out 9/16 on Talisman Records.

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