Video: Shannon Lay, ‘Awaken and Allow’ and ‘Geist’

Kevin Bronson on July 14th, 2021

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“I must not fear what comes tomorrow / I must not dream of yesterday,” Shannon Lay sings, a cappella, in the opening verse of “Awaken and Allow,” another of the (many) moments time seems to stand still when she holds forth.

The newly released song “is a prayer and a promise,” says Lay, who in the chorus resolves to leave California. “A quiet moment to reflect on transformation and what it means to me. California represents my comfort zone and in this song, I am urging myself and everyone listening to move out of their comfort zone in order to push ourselves to grow and evolve. We are all in a constant state of change and the way we can learn to move and flow with that change completely elevates our experience with it. The most amazing thing we can do for ourselves is recognize where and how we are standing in our own way and move aside. ‘Awaken and Allow’ your greatness to emerge.”

The song, the follow-up to the May release “Rare to Wake,” arrived today with the news that “Geist,” Lay’s fourth album and second for Sub Pop Records, will be out Oct. 8.

The solemn video for “Awaken and Allow,” in fact, is twinned with the visuals for the more sanguine title track. Kai MacKnight, who directed the video for “Rare to Wake,” filmed the “Geist” part of the new video at the beloved Frogtown venue Zebulon. (Lay released the album “Live at Zebulon” in May 2020.)

“‘Geist’ is a testament to the power we all have within,” Lay says. “We are so much more amazing than we know ourselves to be. With this video, I really wanted to acknowledge some of the incredible people who make shows possible. We filmed at Zebulon in Los Angeles, a venue that has brought so much to the community here, and I am so happy they have survived this uncertain time. There is so much going on behind the scenes to create the amazing memories we all have of live music and every part of that took a hit with the pandemic. With all we have been through it has been awe-inspiring to see the strength of the human spirit. Let us move forward with kindness and love toward ourselves and others. Let us see the beauty and wonder in the lives we get to live and appreciate every moment of it.”

The new album was shaped around the pandemic’s limitations: Lay recorded vocals and guitar at the studio of Jarvis Tavinere (Woods), then sent the songs out to multi-instrumentalists Ben Boye (Bonnie Prince Billy, Ty Segall) in L.A. and Devin Hoff (Sharon Van Etten, Cibo Matto) in New York. She then sent those recordings to Sofia Arreguin (Wand) and Aaron Otheim (Heatwarmer, Mega Bog) for additional keys. Ty Segall contributed a guitar solo on “Shores.”

||| Watch: The video for “Awaken and Allow” and “Geist”