Acoustic folk-pop with lyrics you want to hold right up to your ear, plus sparkling guitar, sweet vocals and harmonies, salty drums, bass, violin, mandolin, harmonica, piano...and a slide flute cherry on top.

11 MP3 Songs
FOLK: Folk Pop, FOLK: like Joni



Details:
Kate Isenberg is a singer-songwriter whose acoustic guitar and lyrics provide a crystal-clear window on life. Life at its best is, to Kate, rich in observation and imagination, so her songs are equal parts thoughtful and playful. As the vibration of rails signals an oncoming train, the buzz growing around Kateâs third album, THE TIME COMES ON HUMMING TRACKS, announces a powerful arrival. Chronicling the surprises, pitfalls, and rewards of city life and love, the record moves smoothly from loss to laughter to reflection like a streetcar gliding through the hilly neighborhoods of San Francisco. Kateâs exceptional guitar skills set the stage for her lyrics, which have the intimacy of secrets told to a friend and the universal scope of good fiction. But far from being just a girl with a guitar, Kate is a multi-instrumentalist and arranger, complementing her strong songwriting with vocal harmonies, violin, mandolin, banjo, egg shaker, and slide flute. Joining the party on bass, piano, drums, and harmonies are esteemed San Francisco musicians like Jon Evans (Tori Amos, Linda Perry), Aaron Brinkerhoff (of the Alexis Harte Band, a KFOG radio favorite), and Rupa (the April Fishes). Songs from the new album have already been featured in the soundtracks of two films: one romantic comedy and one sociological documentary. The combination fits Kateâs music: poking fun at life one moment, then taking on its most serious questions the next.

THE TIME COMES ON HUMMING TRACKS offers the emotional honesty and immediacy of acoustic songwriting, with top-of-the-line audio production that makes it stand out in an ever-growing genre of home-based recordings. Written, arranged, produced, and recorded by Kate in her San Francisco apartment, the album was then mixed by Evans at the Berkeley studio San Pablo Recorders (whose credits include Bill Frisell, Scott Amendola, and Grammy nominee Mark Little). Mastering wizard Ken Lee made the disc radio-ready, adding to his discography ofâbesides the most legendary international recording artistsâBay Area breakout artists like Beth Lisick, Spearhead, and Goapele. The only thing missing from THE TIME COMES ON HUMMING TRACKS is wide renown, but a secret this good canât be kept for long.

THE TIME COMES ON HUMMING TRACKS provides lovers of great songwriting with the best of both worlds: a fresh voice and well-seasoned craftsmanship. Kate began studying violin at age eight; in college at Harvard, while a passionate student of English and American literature, she taught herself guitar and began writing fiction, journalism, and memoir. This musical and literary education came together after college, when Kate toured top listening rooms on the East and West Coasts as part of the folk-rock duo Vice Versa. Her first solo release, CADUCOUS, earned accolades when its single, âNo Need,â was chosen for an anthology of San Franciscoâs best acoustic songwriting. In 2005, local notice became national attention when the Atlanta-based label Strange Bird Songs picked up âNo Needâ to appear on a compilation of top songwriters in the U.S., including Michelle Malone and Indigo Girl Amy Ray. THE TIME COMES ON HUMMING TRACKS will announce to the indie-acoustic world an artist whose time has come, starting with the nearest pair of ears.