Spacebomb is proud to introduce our newest artist, Natalie Prass, that specialist in all styles direct from Nashville, Tennessee, with a pure, radiant voice and those sly, romantic songs. Old friends from the Virginia coast, Prass sat down with Matthew E. White to choose nine tracks for Spacebomb’s sleek and lively creative machine. With intuition, hard work and the alchemy of time and place, they crafted an unassuming masterpiece–a real stunner that sounds both thoroughly out-of-time and impossibly fresh. Prass is a powerful, beguiling performer and cunning pop composer–we’re trying to play it cool, but this record and singer have gotten us good. It’s the kind of project that fulfills the unique collaborative vision of Spacebomb: a genuine moment where an artist discovers her voice together with this special community. Regional music, soul music, pop music becoming much more than the sum of its parts. Natalie Prass is that rare thing–a songwriter’s songwriter and a performer’s performer–blessed with universal appeal and endless charm. She can sing in your home tonight.

Bird of Prey b/w Any Time, Any Place (SB005)

Pop is not a thing to be feared. The first Spacebomb single from Natalie Prass, “Bird of Prey” – which premiered today on the A.V. Club – hits fierce and fast, moving with a silky, yet propulsive beat. Our calm narrator, resigned to the dark fate of love, moves along with a confident lyrical pace, as flutes dive and weave through stabs of muted horn and an underpinning of easy rolling tack piano. It’s difficult to pinpoint any specific time or place; the music simply exists in a protean mist of swirling strings. Prass wraps her glowing voice around the hook and delivers a knock-out jewel of a song, addictive, deep-cut and flat-out timeless. This track and the forthcoming full-length record represent a high point of Spacebomb’s collaborative vision: the give-and-take of passionate musical conversation, seamless connection between artist, arrangers and players, honoring the history and putting time into the process to reach a classic new sound.

On the B side, available on iTunes, Natalie pays respect to Janet (and Kendrick) with a pitch-perfect take on Any Time, Any Place, the get-it-on-now-immediately-and-in-public modern R&B classic. An assured, joyful, undeniably sexy cover, this Trey Pollard production is a little more wow and flutter than the shimmer and click of Jam & Lewis, but Spacebomb’s house band keeps the smooth energy of the original, cutting it with the casual pleasure of a late night session. Miss Prass gives Miss Jackson’s canonical vocals her own sweet agenda–nuanced tension and detailed urgency–all elements vibrating together at the sultry speed of Spacebomb.*

*Please note: When in the company of a significant other or beautiful stranger, Spacebomb respectfully suggests listening to this track inside a bedroom or hotel room.

Natalie Prass – Bird of Prey (Single)
Digital release
07.22.2014
Download on iTunes