"A rare and beautiful thing..."

Added: (Sun Jun 15 2003)

Pressbox (Press Release) - PRESS RELEASE

June 9, 2003

“A RARE AND BEAUTIFUL THING…”

Canadian Alt-Country Artist Coming to England


Rae Billing, previous lead singer/songwriter of Toronto acclaimed alt-country band, Crybaby, crosses the pond to play select shows in south England this July.

Crybaby won critical acclaim with their 1996 debut, Paintings, (produced by Peter J. Moore – Cowboy Junkies, Holy Cole, Oh Susannah) chosen by Toronto weekly paper, Eye Magazine, as one of the Top Three Country albums of the year (along with Lyle Lovett and Blackie and the Rodeo Kings), praising ‘the weary sensuality” of Rae’s vocals. The band also elicited kudos south of the border at Austin’s South by Southwest Festival with Nashville Scene writer, Michael McCall, characterizing their music as ‘tangy country soul’ and calling their performance one of the “notable moments’ of the festival.

“Rae Billing’s frank expressions of vulnerability and longing remain a touchstone.”
Exclaim Magazine, Toronto

“The best thing about this ‘country’ album are the lovely worlds singer/songwriter Rae Billing invites us into.” Music Threads Magazine, Toronto

“It’s a rare and beautiful thing, a country-cool album full of tasty guitar, laid-back vocals and sweet sad songs.” Shift Magazine, Toronto

Re-uniting with Peter J. Moore, Rae’s solo debut album has again caused the critics to reach for superlatives. On his weekly Top Ten list of ‘Anti-Hits’, The Toronto Sun/CANOE’s John Sakamoto placed the closing cut from the album as Number 3. On a list populated only by Brits and Americans, Sakamoto praised Rae’s album as “an astonishingly assured solo debut.”

“The songs (reveal) well-crafted, personal lyrics that colour narratives about lives enlarged and reduced by love or not enough of it… Billing’s voice is a remarkably fluid and expressive instrument, honest and pure, assured and desperate at the same time…”
Greg Quill, Toronto Star

Rae will be playing a handful of acoustic shows at ‘alt-country-friendly’ venues, including:

Saturday, July 19th CB2 CLUB, Cambridge
Monday, July 21st 12 BAR CLUB, London
Saturday, July 26th THE FOLK-HOUSE, Bristol
Tuesday, July 29th THE BEE-HIVE, Swindon

Rae’s self-titled album is distributed by EMI Music Canada. More information is available at www.raebilling.com.

HUG-MUSIC INC. 545 Concord Ave., Toronto, ON, M6H 2R2, 416-533-1749.
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