Hailing from Girdwood, Alaska, 18-year-old Ava Earl is no stranger to the beauty and drama the natural world has to offer. But it was diving into the fictional pages of Patricia C. Wrede’s The Enchanted Forest Chronicles that brought her new single “Cimorene” to life. The second of two singles ahead of her forthcoming album produced by JT Nero—one half of Americana-outfit, Birds of Chicago—“Cimorene” began as a sonic Christmas present for her parents, but was revisited, and ultimately finished, after Earl discovered Wrede’s stories during her quarantining. “The book was a sweet love story with a badass feminist female character named Cimorene,” Earl says. “[It was] right up my alley.” The song’s beautiful, winding melodies and organic, subtle instrumentation lend well to the embodiment of Earl’s adapted folk-tale-love-story; one that takes listeners from a ghostly, reverb and tremolo drenched intro and verse into a warm refrain of “I can’t grow old without you, Cimorene.” Today, Underground Music Collective premiered “Cimorene,” calling it “a gorgeous and gracefully finger-picked folk song which aims to take the listener to an ‘enchanted space during a time of collective isolation, nostalgia, and longing.’” Fans can stream “Cimorene” right now at this link.
“Cimorene” is a natural follow-up to the previously released single, “Forever Girl.” Earl told Guitar Girl Magazine about the simple-is-best format she applied to “Forever Girl,” saying that she “recorded this song in my bedroom...sending a voice memo of the song to Steve Dawson (Birds of Chicago), who then laid down the rhythm guitar track. When he sent me back the guitar, I put my vocals on top. I have a small Tascam recorder that I used to record, and I listened to the guitar in one ear and my vocals in the other.” The song, which shines lyrically, benefited from sparse production, as evident in Earl’s emotional vocal delivery.
Previous to these single drops, Earl has written and co-produced three full-length albums which include Am I Me Yet?, her latest project, which was released in July 2018. Am I Me Yet? is a 15 song collection recorded at The Hallowed Halls studio in Portland, Oregon, and features Earl on guitar and vocals, Andy Mullen on guitar and bass, and Anna Tivel on violin. The album was engineered by Hawkins Wright, who is also the album’s co-producer.
An engaging performer, Earl thrives in a live concert setting, drawing audiences in with her music and stories. Highlight performances over the years include opening dates for Maggie Rogers, Rhett Miller, and Tim Easton.
For more information and to stay abreast of Earl's forthcoming album, please visit https://www.avaearl.com
