GRAMMY-winning singer and songwriter Aoife O’Donovan shares “Prodigal Daughter,” the latest preview of her new album Age Of Apathy (out January 21 on Yep Roc Records). Featuring Allison Russell and co-written with Tim O’Brien, “Prodigal Daughter” recasts the biblical parable as a multigenerational tale of abandonment and tentative reconciliation. O’Donovan’s emotive performance — bolstered by Russell’s echoing harmonies and O’Brien’s mandolin — tugs at the tension and guilt at the heart of the song’s mother and daughter reunion. Aoife ties it together with heart-wrenching detail: pleading with her mother for forgiveness, the daughter points to a granddaughter that “resembles me resembling you” — a stark reminder of their interconnectedness and the almost cyclical rebellions of children against their parents.
Listen to “Prodigal Daughter” here
Produced by fellow GRAMMY-winner Joe Henry (Bonnie Raitt, Rhiannon Giddens), Age Of Apathy finds O’Donovan in rare form. Atop richly textured arrangements — ornate but never fussy — O’Donovan reflects on the emotional disconnect wrought by the internet age and strives to reconnect with more visceral motivations: flesh-and-blood relationships, calls to social justice, and carving out a joyful existence amid apocalyptic forecasts of the future. Her melodies are distinct and beautiful, and her ability to thread together various songwriting traditions is evidence of a master at work.
O’Donovan recorded Age Of Apathy through a unique arrangement with Full Sail University in Winter Park, FL, logging daily hours on-site at their studio with GRAMMY-nominated engineer Darren Schneider (Deep Purple, Koryn Hawthorne, Trivium) — who also mixed the album — all the while collaborating entirely remotely with Henry.
Released last month, lead single “Phoenix” soars. Directed by photographer Omar Cruz, the video finds Aoife in a gorgeous desert landscape, embracing the open skies and windswept landscape. Watch “Phoenix” here
Keep an eye out for more tour dates coming soon, and pre-order Age Of Apathy here
