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Stories   >   Tift Merritt - Stitch Of The World / NPR: First Listen

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More Albums with Simone Dinnerstein | Tift Merritt

Tift Merritt - Stitch Of The World / NPR: First Listen

Posted: January 20, 2017

"So much breaks, wears down, fails in us," the poet Marge Piercy once wrote. "We must forgive our broken promises - their sharp shards in our hands." But it's difficult to be that generous toward disappointment. It's so much simpler to keep on guarding a sublime ideal, to rail against a letdown, to reject a ravaged expectation by submerging in melancholy. That's what makes the forgiving qualities of Tift Merritt's new album, Stitch Of The World, so welcome.

A dozen years ago, Merritt was mentioned in virtually every journalistic roundup of rising talent in the alt-country and Americana scenes. She grew into an exceptionally sure-footed singing and songwriting voice, as well as a sympathetic collaborator to the likes of classical pianist Simone Dinnerstein and sophisticated folk minds Andrew Bird and M.C. Taylor. Along the way, Merritt's also become a wonderful kind of musical veteran - one who's attentive to the capriciousness of her own inspiration while allowing herself time and space to tease out her ideas.

LISTEN TO Tift Merritt's new album, Stitch Of The World, on NPR: First Listen