American Songwriter is proud to premiere Rebecca Pidgeon’s “Don’t Lie Darling,” a song she wrote with David Batteau, and which is produced by Fernando Perdomo.
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It’s from her new EP Comfort, produced by Perdomo and one of two EPs being released May 10, along with Circus Delirium, produced by Thomas Bartlett, in advance of her May 11 concert at Hotel Café in Hollywood at 7 p.m.
The EPs feature this track as well as “Underwater Boys” and are being released as a preview of Rebecca’s forthcoming 20-song double full-length studio album, Sudden Exposure to Light, due out in summer 2019 on Toy Canteen Records.
Producer-pianist Thomas Bartlett has produced great albums recently with St. Vincent, Sufjan Stevens, and Yoko Ono. Circus Delirium transports Pidgeon from a pool of darkness to the wonders of enlightenment with an avant-garde backdrop.
Comfort, produced by Perdomo, features material written while she was on tour with Marc Cohen.
“Working at Fernando Perdomo’s studio,” Rebecca said to American Songwriter, “was a bit like being sequestered in an old magic cave. Fernando was the wizard dressed all in black with his black bowler hat. I remember him shuffling around behind an old sofa and finding an air spray can to use as a percussive sound on one of our tracks. This was inspired by the band Os Mutantes who we both like, who used such sounds and made their own instruments in the ’60s.”
“I had written this song ‘Don’t Lie Darling’ with David Batteau. The riff was inspired by early PJ Harvey, a repetitive swampy bluesy guitar, and the lyric was inspired by the story of the two lovers in Ernest Hemingway’s book A Farewell To Arms, which is the saddest book I’ve ever read. We chose this as a lead track for my EP Comfort, which Fernando produced.”
“Rebecca is amazing,” said Perdomo, “and so talented. It was a breeze working with her and so great to have here her at Reseda Ranch Studios.” Much of his production, he said, was based on the demos she brought in. “Her demos were fascinating, and we used a lot of what she did on those in the final record. Her rhythm guitar playing is phenomenal and she has a real Kate Bush type quality to her backing vocals. We took her synthetic demo and made everything organic.”
Fernando, a musician of multitudes as well as gifted singer-songwriter, said he and Rebecca bonded over shared songwriting heroes and favorite records. He insisted on real drums, which he played himself, as well as bass, lead guitar, pianos, and mellotron. Co-writer David Batteau, who Perdomo calls “a real gem,” played acoustic guitar and sings the deep baritone vocals. “I’ve been a fan of David for a long time,” said Fernando.
“Rebecca’s a great songwriter and her lyrics are great,” he said. “Also, she’s really good people. I’ll admit I’m honestly not familiar with her acting at all. My judgment on her is 100 percent musical. She is one of the best I’ve ever worked with.”
He also played guitar, percussion and other instruments on the soundtrack of the new movie Echo In The Canyon, featuring Jakob Dylan. Joining Fernando in the score’s superband are Cat Power, Fiona Apple, Beck and Regina Spektor. He’s also co-producer of the new DirtyDiamond album, which features Andra Day. That single, “Going Through The Changes” comes out on May 10.
“Credit should go,” said Perdomo,” to engineer Zach Ziskin, who mixed this. He’s a great singer-songwriter, too, and he mixes from that perspective. Song first.”
Rebecca’s also an accomplished actress, who starred in The Spanish Prisoner, Heist and Red, as well on the TV shows Phil Spector, The Unit and on stage in Speed the Plow at the Royal National Theatre, London as well as in The Old Neighborhood at The Booth Theatre, Broadway.
Circus Delirium and Comfort will be available via all digital retailers and streaming platforms on May 10, 2019.
You can listen to the song here.
