Ned Collette returns to Franks, this time alongside American songwriter Thalia Zedek, and accompanied by pianist Chris Abrahams, of the legendary instrumental trio The Necks, and American viola player Elisabeth Fuchsia (Bonnie "Prince" Billy). The ensemble will be performing songs from both Collette and Zedek's catalogue. Ned Collette's recent album Our Other History features contributions from Fuchsia and Abrahams as well as Mick Turner and Jim White from The Dirty Three, and Leah Senior. Thalia Zedek's new album The Boat Outside Your Window will be out May 23 on Thrill Jockey.

Ned's approach to lyrics, vocals and music shares a melancholic beauty that is both haunted and haunting. His words are often more impressionistic than overt in their storytelling, but his vocals carry hints that recall those of the legendary Roy Harper. But where Harper's attack was often Dionysian, Collette's approach is Apollonian, and the tracks often have a compositional feel with a distinct taste of Canterbury... Collette's music is hard to classify. It exists inside a dynamic flux made up of equal parts post-rock, folk, jazz and avant prog, but it manages to remain plain-spoken and uncluttered regardless of how complex its structure can be when you start parsing it - Byron Coley

Last summer, I saw Ned in performance here in my hometown of Louisville, KY, accompanied by Elisabeth Fuchsia who had recently become a hero-friend. And it was ‘magical’, ‘alchemical’, engaging and illuminating and inspiring; I witnessed Ned’s and Fuchsia’s almost overpowering fluency with music and with music’s ability to act simultaneously as the medium for communication between performers and with audience - Will Oldham (Bonnie "Prince" Billy)

Thalia Zedek has one of the most enduring and distinctive voices in modern rock music — a voice like no other — that can be heard in her work with some of the most groundbreaking underground bands, from Uzi and Live Skull to Come. Since 2001, Zedek has been making music under her own name, releasing a string of critically acclaimed albums.

Thalia Zedek’s considerable body of work demonstrates a clarity of vision, a singular performance style, and an expansive range. Her ability to deliver raw emotions through her vivid stories of loss and hope, strife and triumph is unmatched. Zedek has long been a melodic songwriter in a series of heavy bands. That contrast, along with her distinct blend of both direct and poetic lyrics, allows her to sing of the most difficult of life’s moments in ways that are both elevating and devastating. Out and proud her entire career, Thalia never hesitates to speak truth to power... Her unique musical voice remains potent and pointed. Cultivating her sound with purpose and an unflinching view of humanity, Zedek’s words and music are both invigorating, and capable of capturing the deep emotional complexities of life - Thrill Jockey

Contact the host of Ned Collette & Thalia Zedek (USA) at Franks Wild Years