“Powerful but intimate’ ★★★★” – MOJO Magazine
AMSTERDAM (December 20, 2021) – Amsterdam singer-songwriter, VanWyck, announces the US release of her single, “I Was Innocent” on January 14. The single is off her fourth album, The Epic Tale of the Stranded Man, due out on April 8 through Excelsior Recordings. A David Lynchian quality permeates “I Was Innocent,” reveling in isolation at the crossroads of denying responsibility and deflecting through blame.
Setting the stage for the rest of the album, “I Was Innocent” tells the tale of how The Stranded Man will try to find a way out of his predicament. Written from the perspective of an imprisoned man stuck in a place of confinement, he tries to claim his innocence but at the same time lists his faults. We don’t know if he is guilty or innocent. We don’t know what his supposed crimes are. Is he a victim or a criminal? Is he imprisoned, or did he escape? Can he be saved, or is his end near? Americana-UK’s Jonathan Aird says, “There’s a real sense of mystery, and an intriguing confusion as to where the truth might really lie, an edgy unease only enhanced by the excellent support playing.”
VanWyck says, “I noticed that people often blame others for what went wrong. Criminals often do this when interviewed in prison, but also normal people, when they talk about their lives, so often it’s about what was inflicted on them, and not about their own role in that specific history.”
Enchanting, moody, and rich, the album vividly reflects these confusing modern times through whispered tones and cavernous themes. It’s a timeless album portraying the different ways in which modern man is lost, scared, stuck in his ways, and searching for a way out of his predicament. Twelve songs that intertwine both lyrically and harmonically. Together they tell a story about a man who washes up on a wondrous island and doesn’t remember where he came from. Is he a victim or a perpetrator? Has he escaped, or is he imprisoned? Can he be saved, or is his end near? Luckily a woman enters the stage. Will she be able to save him?
The album also speaks of these times in a broader sense: we are living on the brink of epic transitions. We know that the old ways will lead to our destruction but can’t decide on the path forward. VanWyck says, “Sometimes it feels like we are trapped in our own prisons, in our inability to take good care of each other and this wonderful planet, like we are failing in our most epic of struggles, the survival of our humanity.”
The Epic Tale of the Stranded Man Track Listing
- The Stranded Man
- I Was Innocent
- Maybe, Maybe Not
- The Havoc Wreaker
- Seaweed Seller
- Pond Floor Dwellers
- The Dragon
- Ciceline
- The Smiling Prophet
- Lola With the Light Eyes
- The Way Out
- My Baby Rides a Dark Horse
About VanWyck
Amsterdam VanWyck has drawn comparisons to Leonard Cohen and Laura Marling with her rich lyrics and sober alt-folk craft. She released her first EP, Tanned Legs, in 2015 to international acclaim. Her debut album, An Average Woman, came out in January 2018 on her own Maiden Name Records and was hailed by the Dutch music press as one of the best releases by a native artist in years. After her first extensive theatre tour was canceled because of Covid, VanWyck changed course and released a third album of intimate, acoustic songs called God is in the Detour in 2020. The album received a 4-star review in MOJO ma
Tour Dates
02/14 Muziekgebouw, Eindhoven, The Netherlands
02/26 Lost Causes Festival, Tewkesbury, UK
03/11 Beauforthuis, Austerlitz, The Netherlands
03/12 Theaterkerk Wadway, The Netherlands
03/18 Tivoli Vredenburg, Utrecht, The Netherlands
03/25 Pop- en Cultuurhuis PX, Volendam, The Netherlands
03/26 De Amer, Amen, The Netherlands
03/31 Cultura, Ede, The Netherlands
04/03 Agnietenkapel, Gouda, The Netherlands
04/09 Theater Junushoff, Wageningen, The Netherlands
04/15 Nieuwe Nor, Heerlen, The Netherlands
04/22 MIMIK, Deventer, The Netherlands
04/23 Theater Ludens, Voorburg, The Netherlands
04/29 Schouwburg Ogterop, Meppel, The Netherlands
05/14 Theaterkerk hemels, Twisk, The Netherlands
05/15 Cool kunst en cultuur, Heerhugowaard, The Netherlands
05/22 Meervaart, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
06/04 Nijend 24, Nijend, The Netherlands
06/19 Paradiso, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
07/23 Zomer op het plein Festival, Alkmaar, The Netherlands
Praise For VanWyck
“a real sense of mystery, and an intriguing confusion as to where the truth might really lie”- Americana UK
“one of those consistently rewarding albums” – Folk Radio
“As for international singles, the imaginary song of the week title goes to the new VanWyck single I Was Innocent. Absolutely love the song.” – One Chord to Another
