Zoe Fitzgerald Carter's 'Waterlines' Due February 12, 2021

Author-turned-songwriter Zoe Fitzgerald Carter is pleased to announce the release of her new album, Waterlines, featuring ten original songs and some of the finest musicians in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Ranging in style from folk to funk, the tracks share a vivid sense of language and a lively, literary approach to storytelling. Zoe's background as a journalist, essayist and author (Imperfect Endings), is reflected in the album's intimate, autobiographical feel. The title of the album, Waterlines, refers to writing itself, she says. "But also evokes the way we look for clues from the past. Like tracing the watermarks after a river has flooded or been depleted."

Whether struggling to break free of an ex-lover's voice ("These Words"), lamenting the fate of a teenage friend ("Only Girl") or railing against the restrictive societal messages aimed at girls ("I Wanna Be A Teenage Boy") Zoe's lyrics and sensual, earthy voice pull her listeners onto emotionally resonant, wryly humorous territory.

"Writing has always been a way for me to make sense of things," Zoe says. "The process of capturing experiences on the page, whether it's something dramatic like a breakup or a death, or smaller and more subtle like the timeless feeling you get lying on a raft, can totally change your understanding of what's happened. And when you add melody and rhythm and instruments, it can feel like a novella packed into four minutes."

The album features a rich array of Bay Area musicians, including drummer Dawn Richardson (formerly of 4 Non Blondes and Tracy Chapman's touring band), keyboardist Julie Wolf (Ani DeFranco), trumpet/flugelhorn player Erik "Mr. Tasty" Jekabson (John Mayer), bass player Paul Olguin (famed Bay Area sideman), and guitarist extraordinaire Michael Papenburg, who soars on the album's funk-infused feminist anthem " Teenage Boy."

Opening with a quartet of quieter, folk-influenced songs ("Better Things to Do," "Below the Waterline," "Owl in Kensington" and "Only Girl"), the album shifts to the incantatory "On the Raft," followed by the Latinesque "Like A Drum." Expanding further afield are two laid-back and sensuous, trumpet-inflected jazz tunes ("These Words," "Saturday Man") a classic country ballad ("One Too Many Days in Nashville"), and the sassy, bass-driven rocker, "Teenage Boy," inspired by the Kavanaugh hearings.

"My musical roots are firmly planted in Folk and Americana," Zoe says, "but the last couple of years I've been exploring new musical terrain, including Brazilian and jazz. The stylistic arc of the album reflects that evolution, which was beautifully handled by the musicians involved. Recording the album was collaborative and just absurdly fun. It also provided a much-needed distraction from this terrible year. It's my fervent hope that the political and pandemic-related horrors of 2020 will be firmly behind us when the album drops -- and we will once again be able to play and listen to live music."

Singer/songwriter Zoe FitzGerald Carter began playing guitar and singing as a teenager in Washington D.C. where her father was a well-known jazz drummer. In addition to her career as a writer and teacher, she's played and performed with numerous Bay Area bands, including the all-journalist band, The Deadliners, and the Dylan-inspired, Rolling Thunder. Her first album (Waiting for the Earthquake) was released in 2018 and features her longtime Americana string band, Sugartown, a staple at Bay Area clubs like The Freight & Salvage, The Back Room, Hotel Utah and Rancho Nicasio.

"The album's direct and piercing lyrics pull no punches and its haunting melodies are perfectly suited to Zoe's rich and evocative voice," said award-winning producer, Monica Pasqual.

Her new album, Waterlines, features ten new songs written in a range of musical styles and showcasing a panoply of top Bay Area musicians. In addition to recording, writing and performing, Zoe teaches memoir and songwriting and has recently taken up the drums.