It's been a long and tangled road for Stefanie Fix’s stunning, intricate new album, Crooked Smile, but three years’ worth of major life changes, including a move to Austin, TX, never compromised a clear musical vision. Now this songwriter’s songwriter returns with her finest collection of songs yet. From the playful, optimistic opening track “Let the Sun Shine Thru You” to the hushed sophistication of “Holy Shit Ma,” the tracks on Crooked Smile reveal a sprawling, hard-fought range of emotions about love and identity, delivered with the musical palette to express them all. These are mature songs about complicated sentiments.

Fix re-invents herself with every new musical project. The continuity lies in her distinctive voice and astonishingly honest lyrics that are crafted to be emotionally revealing without having to be personally revealing. The result: remarkably universal songs that speak to anyone willing to listen.

Like a magnet, Stefanie Fix manages to draw a world-class musical cream of the crop to all her projects. Crooked Smile was produced by Stephen Doster (Willie Nelson, Nancy Griffith, Dr. John) & Johnny Goudie (Goudie, Canvas, Endocine). The CD also features the likes of Dony Wynn on drums (Robert Palmer, Steve Winwood), Brad Houser on bass (Edie Brickell & the New Bohemians), Stewart Cochran on keys (54 Seconds, Jimmy Lafave) and Jon Sanchez on guitar (The Summer Wardrobe).

Stefanie’s last full length CD, SURVIVAL was co-produced by Larry Campbell (Bob Dylan) and the late Bob Mayo (Hall & Oates, Peter Frampton). Recorded in upstate New York, the CD received 4 stars from All Music Guide and Stefanie toured all over North America with SURVIVAL in tow.

But there was this internal itch. Stefanie realized that the music she was most excited about wasn’t what she was making. That itch was the genesis of her next project, Limited Sight Distance (LSD). A clear and conscious choice to abandon the confines of the singer/songwriter genre and embrace the emotive power of sonic exploration, LSD included contributions from Adam Snyder, Jason and Justin Russo (all formally of Mercury Rev) and John Parker (Varnaline). Produced by Kevin McMahon (The Walkmen, Home, Cakelike, and The Mooney Suzuki), Stefanie again attracted a musical “crème de la crème.”

Stefanie Fix wants to shake things up—on stage and in the studio—and Crooked Smile merges all the musical styles Stefanie has explored. “I think we found a way to allow the listener to hear the song as a well-crafted piece while also creating a sonic landscape they can lose themselves in. I wanted the guttural, genuine feeling evoked by lo-fi sounds, while still making conscious, deliberate choices around sonic expansion and contraction. I think that’s how we experience life—as a combination of murky confusions and recognized clarity. I knew we could bring that dichotomy to a CD and it would make sense because it’s how we really feel.”

Stefanie Fix performs regularly as a solo artist as well as with her full, studio band in the Austin area.

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