Tancred
Tancred is the '90s alt-rock-influenced solo project of singer/guitarist Jess Abbott, formerly of the indie rock group Now, Now. While her 2011 debut, Capes, had an emo-influenced lo-fi demeanor, she developed a more aggressive sound that embraced hooks à la the Breeders and Weezer by her third album, 2016's Out of the Garden. Arriving in 2018, Nightstand was a more vulnerable, nuanced outing. A still gentler mix of acoustic guitar and subtle electronics marked 2022's "Mirepoix," Tancred's first solo release in four years.
Abbott relocated from her home state of Maine to Minneapolis, Minnesota in 2009 in hopes of playing guitar for Cacie Dalager and Bradley Hale following the release of Now, Now Every Children's 2008 debut album, Cars. They welcomed her to the lineup, and the group shortened its name to Now, Now beginning with their 2010 EP Neighbors. In the meantime, Abbott worked on her own brittle, partly acoustic self-recorded songs. She collected them on her Tancred debut, the self-released Capes, in 2011. (It received a label release by No Sleep Records three years later.) The Now, Now LP Threads followed in 2012.
Made with help only from Hale, Abbott's more energetic, electric guitar-centered follow-up Tancred arrived in 2013 on Top Shelf Records. Abbott brought in bassist Terrence Vitali and drummer Kevin Medina to play on demos for her next LP, and the pair would go on to perform on official recordings and as members of her touring band. Produced by Anna Waronker (that dog.) and Steven McDonald (Redd Kross/OFF!), the still more aggressive, part alt-rock and part power pop Out of the Garden was issued by Polyvinyl in 2016. Around that time, Abbott moved back to Maine and then parted ways with Now, Now to focus on Tancred. Recorded with Lewis Pesacov (Best Coast, Valley Queen) at his home studio in L.A., Tancred's more nuanced fourth album, Nightstand, slightly softened her sound while retaining her hooky guitar core.
After taking a break from touring and recording for Tancred, a period that included and writing and singing for others (Chris Farren, Alex Lahey, Jenny Owen Youngs), she re-emerged in late 2021 with the holiday single "Fireside," a collaboration between Tancred, Youngs, and John Mark Nelson. Working again with Nelson and Youngs, the tender solo Tancred ballad "Mirepoix" followed in late 2022.
© Marcy Donelson /TiVo
Discography
18 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller
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Tancred
Alternative & Indie - Released by Topshelf Records on 15 Oct 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Fireside
John Mark Nelson, Tancred, Jenny Owen Youngs
Ambient/New Age - Released by 2567984 Records DK2 on 9 Nov 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Nightstand (Acoustic)
Alternative & Indie - Released by Polyvinyl Records on 4 Dec 2020
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Out of the Garden
Alternative & Indie - Released by Polyvinyl Records on 1 Apr 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Figurehead
Alternative & Indie - Released by Reimagine Music on 20 Apr 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Birthday Candles
Alternative & Indie - Released by Polyvinyl Records on 16 May 2017
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
dusk
Jenny Owen Youngs, John Mark Nelson, Tancred
New Age - Released by OFFAIR, LLC on 19 Apr 2023
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mirepoix / Jars
Alternative & Indie - Released by Jess Daniel Abbott on 16 Nov 2022
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Mirepoix (feat. Jenny Owen Youngs)
Alternative & Indie - Released by Jess Daniel Abbott on 26 Oct 2022
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Tancred on Audiotree Live
Pop/Rock - Released by Audiotree Music on 1 Mar 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Perfektes System
Hip-Hop/Rap - Released by Tancred on 21 Mar 2024
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Vergiss Den Schmerz
Hip-Hop/Rap - Released by Tancred on 7 Mar 2024
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bed Case / Hounds
Alternative & Indie - Released by Polyvinyl Records on 1 Apr 2016
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Queen of New York
Rock - Released by Hand In Hive on 19 Apr 2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
dusk
Jenny Owen Youngs, John Mark Nelson, Tancred
New Age - Released by OFFAIR, LLC on 19 Apr 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo