May Erlewine takes a bold new approach to her sound in her latest album, with anthems of resilience, following her well-known stream of heartfelt lyricism. The Michigan-based songwriter wouldn’t call her new album What it Takes drastically different, though. If anything, she just isn’t holding back.
“I think these songs express a little more dissent and frustrations than some of my other records, and I feel like existing in, especially, a female body at this time in the world – there's a lot to be angry about,” Erlewine said. “There's a lot of very difficult feelings that my whole life I have been asked to keep mild… The album starts with sort of a disclaimer about me as, ‘If you're gonna talk about me, just tell the truth.’”
One of Erlewine’s greatest influences in music production comes down to the collective experience of playing together. This time, she brought in the same band from her last record, and the same producer, Theo Katzman. She asked herself then: “What could be different?”
Her answer to the band: “We're going to dig in a little bit harder, and we're going to reach a little harder, and we're not going to be as careful.”
Erlewine recorded inside the Cinnamon Ranch, a small room in Northwoods in Michigan. The studio doubles as Katzman’s home, which allowed the band’s camaraderie to achieve a natural, at-home feel, Erlewine said.
“It creates this camp-esque atmosphere where we're just all totally in, and we're making food together in the kitchen, and you could smell the food cooking while you're doing the takes. Just having that camaraderie and that homely feeling and being able to spend time outside of the takes, just hanging out and enjoying the things that make us happy, going down to the creek. All those things definitely are in the album. I don't know exactly how, but they're in there.”
Erlewine wrote a poem for Katzman about being courageously vulnerable, titled TBA – short for Tender Badass. Beyond the poem, Erlewine thought many people likely felt unrecognized in their “vulnerable badassness.”
“I wanted to get the phrase out there in some way,” she said.
As the conflict in the Middle East heightened, Erlewine was feeling a lot of grief, she said. She has friends and family who’ve been directly impacted by Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks on Israel. Inspired by how Taylor Swift’s fans traded a frenzy of friendship bracelets at the Eras tour, Erlewine decided to sell TBA bracelets at her shows to raise funds and awareness to support Gaza relief efforts.
“I brought all of the supplies and a lot of hope, but I had no idea how it would go,” Erlewine said. “To my surprise, a lot of people turned out to offer their hands and hearts to the cause.”
Through this community-powered initiative, Erlewine raised over $20,000 for food relief efforts in Gaza. This year, she has gathered more volunteers. The proceeds will go to the American Civil Liberties Union.
Each year, Erlewine said she plans to change the bracelet colors. Last year, the beads were red and white. This year, they’ll be black and gold.
Typically, Erlewine focuses her advocacy efforts on human rights and environmental advocacy. She has received long emails and backlash in response, but Erlwine stands confident that these principles cannot be denied.
“If someone's gonna come back at me for trying to stand up for human rights, then let them go ahead.”
In What It Takes, Erlewine embraces her vulnerability and strength. She hopes to empower her audience to do the same.
“There’s a lot to feel and a lot to distract us from feeling it,” Erlewine said. “I feel like my job right now is to remind people that they are feeling like human vulnerable creatures, that we gotta keep feeling because we'll lose our dreams if we don’t.”
Erlewine kicked off her tour on April 2 with a kickoff show in Grand Rapids. Her upcoming shows will take place in Milwaukee on April 17, and in Marquette on April 18 and 19.
