“The Shape of Things Gone Missing, The Shape of Things to Come”
By Yogesh Simpson
Acclaimed Montana singer-songwriter Martha Scanlan is touring this summer for her third solo album. Scanlan wrote the bulk of “The Shape of Things Gone Missing, The Shape of Things to Come,” on the eastern Montana ranch where she’s lived and worked the past five years.
“I had stepped away from music to do the ranch work,” says Scanlan, who released her last album in 2011. “When I finally went to write the songs, I realized I’d been working on them all along.”
In the past, Scanlan has collaborated with a long list of musicians and producers, including TBone Burnett and Levon Helm. This album shows a subtle turn toward more indie rock influences, featuring Helm’s daughter Amy and members of popular Portland, Oregon bands The Decemberists, Black Prairie, and Delorean.
The independent release is available on iTunes and Amazon.com, and tour dates are listed on Scanlan’s website at marthascanlan.com.
This story was first published in the summer 2015 issue of Mountain Outlaw magazine.
