Maria McKee LA VITA NUOVA (2020) Color Vinyl 2LP Record NEW RE

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Maria McKee LA VITA NUOVA (2020) Color Vinyl 2LP Record NEW RE

Ardent, anglophilic, anachronistic, luddite/maximalist and baroque, ‘La Vita Nuova’ was written as an elegy to desire. Upon its completion, it became a conjuring.

Candid and passionate, Maria McKee has quite simply, had a beatific awakening and in a crescendo of prose, her new album ‘La Vita Nuova’ unlocks this story, sketching out a momentous and transformative time in her life that started decades ago when she sang in her living room by the fire with her older brother, the late, great musical innovator Bryan MacLean, co-founder, (along with Arthur Lee), of the seminal LA band LOVE. Along the way she retooled punk and country as the lead singer of pioneering Americana band Lone Justice, released a string of evocative and eclectic solo records, wrote chart-topping hits and inspired the devotion of a loyal cultish fan base before seemingly disappearing… It’s been thirteen years since her last studio album ‘Late December’ which was released in 2007.

‘La Vita Nuova’ is an homage to Dante’s opus on unrequited love. Though the unconscious impetus for making this album was to process the shock of one of McKee’s most prodigious personal challenges thus far, the dissolution and reinvention of her marriage, the songs are progressive and lyrically dense. The production is orchestral and operatic and takes it cues from McKee’s lexicon of icons - John Cale, Scott Walker and David Bowie. And so, it’s a conversation that demands a level of deep concentration. One may need to listen more than once to connect with the confessional narrative that is held in subtext and to understand that within the lines of prose the “muse”, or “Beatrice” of the album is also a heart-breaking phantom of McKee’s younger, idealistic self. And a metaphor for youth in general. As reflected in the haunting, cascading melodic strains of the Joni Mitchell hinted “I Should Have Looked Away” and the poignant, nostalgic wistfulness of lead track “Effigy of Salt”.

McKee has also since moved to London. The album seems to herald this move as there are nods to Sandy Denny, Kate Bush and English composers and poets McKee admires such as Ralph Vaughn Williams, Keats and Swinburne whose work she had immersed herself in while writing the album. McKee’s professed Spiritual Father, William Blake is name checked on the track ‘Right Down To The Heart of London’, a love letter to the psychogeography of McKee’s expatriate home.

‘Ceann Bró’ was inspired by the astral projected liaisons between William Butler Yeats and Maud Gonne on the westernmost point of Ireland as McKee is an initiate of an occult lodge in the tradition of Yeats’ and Gonne’s The Hermetic Order of The Golden Dawn. The lyrics in ‘Page Of Cups’ flirt with the “unexpected, surprising muse” figure in the minor Tarot arcana. The track recalls ‘Forever Changes’-era Love as does ‘I Just Want To Know That You’re Alright’. Both are heavily influenced by brother Bryan MacLean.

It would be easy to believe that ‘La Vita Nuova’ indeed could have been “channelled” as McKee eludes to the songs descending “like manna from the throne” in the lyrics for ‘Courage’. The nineteen-piece orchestral arrangements were composed and arranged by McKee who has had no formal classical training and doesn’t read a note of music. But really that is the nature of creative catharsis which generally operates with a will of its own.

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About NINEVOLT RECORDS

ARE MY NEW RECORDS ALWAYS SEALED?

Yes, usually. New records are mostly sealed. However, exceptions include those that I had to take images of and those that were shipped without shrink. In the case of a NEW opened record, the actual record and the empty cover will be placed inside a soft 3mm record sleeve when shipped. And that's how you should store your vinyl anyway. And it's better for shipping because it basically prevents seem splits. Also, to preserve the integrity of the packaging, I will include the original hype sticker and any others on the new outer sleeve 99% of the time. (A few can be impossible to remove without tearing. In those rare cases, I'll still include it, just with the shrink stuck on the back inside the pocket.)

Some labels ship their records without shrink but inside an outer open sleeve for protection. So please don't think it isn't new because of that. It's just how some of the indie labels ship their records, which again is actually much better than shrink. SEALED is overrated.

IMPORTANT NOTE HERE:

I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR SEAM SPLITS.

I will gladly open your sealed record upon your request and carefully place the actual record in a soft 3mm sleeve and ship both the empty cover and the record inside together but separate. Ta da: no seam splits!

QUALITY CONCERNS...

Please note that NOT all NEW and SEALED records come from the pressing plant totally flawless. While it's extremely rare, some newly pressed vinyl can be damaged; scratched, warped, cracked, mislabeled, dirty, dusty, etc. PLEASE do not assume I sent you a bad record intentionally. Just shoot me a message and we can replace it if I have one in stock. And if I tell you an open record is unplayed, then it is, regardless of any damage that occurred before the label shipped it to me. BUT IF YOU HAVE DAMGE OR SCRATCHES after buying an unplayed record, PLEASE contact me immediately and we will find a solution to your satisfaction. Just realize that not all records come out of the factory always perfect.

SHIPPING...

I am dealing with cancer, and NINEVOLT is just me. Therefore, I have put a little longer shipping times on my records to counter those days when it's hard to even get out of bed. The timeframe doesn't mean I will always take a few extra days to ship your record, but instead, it gives me a bit of a reprieve if I get weak on occasion and find it hard to get out of bed one day. So I TOTALLY APPRECIATE YOUR UNDERSTANDING and SUPPORT.

IT'S JUST ME.

I do this on my own and selling records (especially new ones) isn't as profitable as you might think. So why do I do it? Because like you, I love music. I live for it. I write songs and play guitar so this is natural stuff to me. It's my vibe and a love affair and my life. I love turning people on to new bands, new songs, new sounds. And I hope I have bands and artists you might not see everywhere. Although she's amazing, I won't be selling Taylor Swift records as it's just too competitive to make a even a dollar.

PRICING... Arrrggghhh.

I know some records are expensive. Well, most of them are. But the profit margins on new ones are silly bad. So, to keep my water warm and my microwave working, I've got to turn a profit. Right? And not being some behemoth monster record store or a big box retailer like Target, I don't get those deep discounts or markdowns on my wholesale costs. And darn it, everything is just expensive. So bear with me. I'll do the best I can.

I KNOW IT TOTALLY BLOWS WHEN YOUR RECORD ARRIVES DAMAGED...

Again, I can't be responsible for seam splits... BUT you have the option to have me carefully and delicately open any sealed record and re-packaged with the cover and record shipped in a soft 3mm sleeve together but separate. (Used records are open so they obviously ship that way.) And you'll have any hype sticker and any others on the shrink included.

JUST SAY SO IN A MESSAGE WHEN YOU PLACE YOUR ORDER

Also, if you are ordering an expensive record (around $75 or more), I'll ALWAYS put extra cardboard flats inside the package to keep the shipping box firm and the record protected. And in the case of box sets or a multiple records order that has some weight to it, I will ALWAYS enforce the corners of the outside with cardboard strips for further protection. My packaging is superb.

IS IT COLORED VINYL...

If I know the record is a color variant, it will always say COLOR in the listing. The image will almost always feature the color and be listed in in the description.

If it's BLACK, there usually no mention of the word COLOR. Maybe I'll change that practice and just put BLACK in the listing.

ALSO NOTE THAT some labels make so many variant colors for the same title. And believe it or not, if I order multiple colors of the same title, sometimes they aren't even marked giving me no idea which variants I received. So at times I have to split the seal.

PLEASE shoot me a message with any questions. OR any specifics in shipping your records.

And thanks for the support!

Bonn

Chief Bottle Washer

NINEVOLT RECORDS

Drop needles; not bombs.