One of the last shows featured in Grimy Goods, before mass tour cancellations and venue closures, was Andy Shauf at the Fonda. The Canadian musician performed songs from his January album, The Neon Skyline, which feels like it came out a lifetime ago. Now he has returned with a new single taken from the Neon Skyline sessions. As the weather begins to turn across the country, “You Slipped Away” describes a relationship that is just as cold. Listen to it below.
“‘You Slipped Away’ was a song that I wrote shortly after moving to Toronto, right after I’d just moved into an apartment and had acquired an 80s Yamaha CP60 stage piano. This song was an attempt to write something that sounded like an old standard, using big general metaphors and universal themes.” – Andy Shauf
Shauf is no novice when it comes to songwriting. As he revealed in a statement via press release, it was a piece of new equipment that encouraged him to challenge his writing process. His natural storytelling ability comes through in every syllable of the newly released single, as each stanza is perfectly measured. His voice and the evocative woodwinds add to the chill—listeners can hear grief in each melody and in Shauf’s bitter reflections.
“You Slipped Away” stands apart from its Neon Skyline compatriots for its simpler form, but it represents the best of Andy Shauf, down to the last cigarette.
Grab “You Slipped Away” on Bandcamp or buy The Neon Skyline LP in red wax via ANTI. Follow Andy Shauf on Instagram and Twitter.
by: Zoë Elaine
