Suede & 'Lene

BIOGRAPHY

SUEDE & ‘LENE didn’t plan this. Not really. One minute, Angelo Petraglia, a seasoned Nashville songmaker and sonic architect known for his work with artists spanning Carrie Underwood, Taylor Swift, and Trisha Yearwood to Kim Richey, The Black Keys, and Peter Wolf, was firing off songs in the worn-in corner of their 100-year-old Nashville bungalow. The next, Eulene Sherman, a classically-trained singer, actor, and frontwoman with such acclaimed combos as The Jane Shermans, was weaving harmonies, basslines and melodies into the mix. It wasn’t a band yet – just the buzz of two people with too much music in their heads to ignore it.

But the songs wouldn’t stop. Coffee-fueled jam sessions turned into notebooks full of ideas. Somewhere along the way, the two New York City-born, Nashville transplants realized they weren’t just dabbling – they were building something special. Angelo and Eulene decided they wanted more. More sound, more voices, more dimension. A handpicked group of crack players were enlisted to flesh out their songs with the same deliberate care that birthed them, veteran musicians like 3x GRAMMY® Award winning mandolinist Sam Bush (New Grass Revival, Lyle Lovett, Emmylou Harris) and pedal steel master Dan Dugmore (Linda Ronstadt, James Taylor). What had started as a loose idea snowballed into a epic recording spree. 

“It was coming fast,” Petraglia says, “it was really flowing.”

SUEDE & ‘LENE somehow narrowed their prolific chaos in the tightly focused 10 tracks that comprise their lively and inventive debut album. From the autobiographical “Nashville ‘93”and slinky, insistent  “B.O.T.T.” to the anthemic “Livin In The Country” and the Stooges-style rocker “I Was In a Cult,” SUEDE & ‘LENE have crafted a collection of songs that sounds like a collision of worlds – sweet but unpolished, intricate but impulsive, balancing razor-sharp instincts with raw, unvarnished intimacy and concise social commentary. “A Message From Jane” may well be the LPs artistic centerpiece, introducing a fictional protagonist, “Jane,” whose arresting reflections on life pour out as she struggles with her life as a musical artist throughout the album. 

“She’s trying to get that recognition, but not really feeling it all the time,” says Petraglia, “sometimes being used and experiencing the disappointment that comes with it. Hopefully, Jane’s still around.”

Concocted from the wisdom of experience, well-oiled skill, and just the right blend of confidence and humility, SUEDE & ‘LENE have fused their myriad talents and musical approaches into a truly remarkable debut album – inspired, modern, and, uniquely their own.