Michelle Branch is Back: Everything Comes and Goes

Many Things Just Come and Go, But Not Michelle Branch
After two successful solo pop records, Spirit Room and Hotel Paper, Michelle Branch surprisingly turned the country route with 2006's Stand Still, Look Pretty, a collaborative effort with good friend Jessica Harp. The country duo called themselves the Wreckers (as in "homewreckers") and sold around 800,000 copies of their effort. While the album was a success, spawning two top ten country hits (including the number 1 "Leave the Pieces")--the numbers were not as stellar as those Branch have amassed herself. Nevertheless, she was able to cement herself a place in Nashville.

Because the Wreckers project made her feel at home, she is continuing the country path on her already finished (save mastering and mixing) new studio album, Everything Comes and Goes, which expects a release before the end of this year.

Goodbye to Pop
On Billboard.com, she stated how the album will be more singer/songwriting than country, but that the term "country" is all relative now. "There's really no room for singer/songwriters anymore at radio, so I think this is a natural step. It really feels like the right place to be."

It's the same reason she went under the country hood in the first place. Before the Wreckers saw an album release, she infamously told off badmouthers on her forum with the "f" bomb and wrote, "This isn't fun for me anymore. I'm sick of sucking dicks to get my music heard."

So the new album, much like the Wreckers album, will not be a huge departure from her standard style. Stand Still had its twang and bit of bluegrass elements, but one could still clearly hear the old Branch on many of its tracks. Longtime producer John Shanks and Hotel Paper producer John Leventhal were still on board, and they will still be on Everything Comes.

I've always been a bigger fan of the big pop Branch, so I'm maybe futilely hoping that one the singles will lash out with the irresistible hooks that songs like "Breathe" and "All I Wanted" did. (Keeps fingers crossed.)

But it really is unlikely. The singles released from Stand Still purposely presented a country side of her. "Leave the Pieces" at least had its strong pop sensibilities, but tracks like "My, Oh My" were the ones that really convinced listeners she wasn't just saying she was going country for the country radio support--she was serious about it. While pleasant, it didn't interest me the way previous pop singles did. But whatever works and makes her happy.

On a clip on her newly updated official website, you can see a worn out Branch talk a little bit about New York and the recording process, as well as see her daughter Owen Isabelle. Jessica Harp is now in the midst of recording her own album.