Andy Shauf Details Forthcoming Album ‘Norm’; Shares Chad VanGaalen Animated Video For Latest Single “Telephone”

Singer-songwriter Andy Shauf returns with “Telephone”, the latest single and video off his forthcoming album, Norm. Born from Shauf’s own hatred for talking on the phone, the song takes the alternative perspective, having him imagine himself as desiringthat telephone connection. 

Beginning in a half-whisper, the track opens with exactly the opposite of what Shauf would actually want: “I wish you’d call me on the telephone.” A soft and whimsical piece, the lyrics speak to the yearning of connecting with someone significant to hear about their day, hearing their voice, wanting them to pick up their telephone. Accompanied by a colourfully animated video of another reality, the music video brings listeners even further into the track’s story and the fictional world Shauf has crafted within the upcoming album. 

Animated by Chad VanGaalen, the video features a returning character from the video from Shauf’s earlier single, “Catch Your Eye”, and offers a continuation of its predecessor’s plot. “I love [VanGaalen’s] animation style so much,” Shauf says of the video. “He takes normal things and makes them odd, but also makes odd things seem totally normal. We asked him to take us into the weird world of Norm and a few months later we received an email with a link to this video and it was everything that we hoped for and much more.” 

On the upcoming album, listeners can expect to hear a story unfolding, carrying from song to song and video to video, meant to illuminate the comedy and cruelty of humanity. Norm’s cast of characters includes four voices in all. Three are narrators, inside whose perspective Shauf submerges us for one or more songs. Alongside story editor Nicholas Olson, Shauf refined Norm’s narrative until he felt the bones of the story as he imagined it lay close enough to the surface to be discovered by anyone who wanted to go looking. With Shauf singing everything, it’s not always obvious at first whose point of view is represented in each song, though the lyrics provide clues to know whose voice is being heard at any given moment. Only through repeated listening does the story fully reveal itself, making the album an experience that goes deeper the more you come back to it. 

“Telephone” follows previously released singles “Wasted On You” and “Catch Your Eye.” In support of the new album, set for release on February 10th via Arts & Craft, Shauf will be hitting the road, with a slew of international dates, listed below. 

Live Dates, Presents Norm Tour: 

Tue. Feb. 21 – Columbus, OH @ Skully’s *

Wed. Feb. 22 – Nashville, TN @ The Basement East *

Fri. Feb. 24 – Ft. Worth, TX @ Tulips *

Sat. Feb. 25 – Austin, TX @ Scoot Inn *

Sun. Feb. 26 – Oklahoma City, OK @ Beer City Music Hall *

Tue. Feb. 28 – Phoenix, AZ – Crescent Ballroom *

Wed. Mar. 1 – Santa Ana, CA @ Observatory OC *

Thu. Mar. 2 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Belasco *

Fri. Mar. 3 – San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall *

Tue. Mar. 7 – Portland, OR @ Revolution Hall *

Wed. Mar. 8 – Seattle, WA @ Crocodile *

Fri. Mar. 10 – Victoria, BC @ Royal Theatre *

Sat. Mar. 11 – Vancouver, BC @ The Orpheum *

Sun. Mar. 12 – Kelowna, BC @ Kelowna Community Theatre *

Tue. Mar. 14 – Edmonton, AB @ Winspear Centre *

Wed. Mar. 15 – Calgary, AB @ Jack Singer Concert Hall *

Thu. Mar. 16 – Saskatoon, SK @ TCU Place *

Fri. Mar. 17 – Winnipeg, MB @ Burton Cummings Theatre *

Sat. Mar. 18 – Minneapolis, MN @ Cedar Cultural Center *

Wed. Mar. 22 – Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall *

Thu. Apr. 20 – Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Steel ~

Fri. Apr. 21 – Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer ~

Sat. Apr. 22 – Saxapahaw, NC @ Haw River Ballroom ~

Mon. Apr. 24 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club ~

Wed. Apr. 26 – Boston, MA @ Royale ~

Thu. Apr. 27 – Burlington, VT @ Higher Ground ~

Fri. Apr. 28 – Ottawa, ON @ The Bronson Centre ~

Sat. Apr. 29 – Montreal, QC @ L’Olympia ~

Tue. May 2 – London, ON @ London Music Hall ~

Wed. May 3 – St. Catharines, ON @ FirstOntario Place ~

Thu. May 4 – Kitchener, ON @ Centre in The Square ~

Fri. May 5 – Toronto, ON @ Massey Hall ~

Tue. May 23 – Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso

Thu. May 25 – Paris, FR @ La Cigale

Fri. May 26 – Antwerp, BE @ De Roma

Sat. May 27 – Brighton, UK @ The Old Market

Mon. May 29 – Leeds, UK @ Brudenell

Tue. May 30 – Glasgow, UK @ Queen Margaret Union

Thu. Jun. 1 – London, UK @ Hackney Empire

Fri. Jun. 2- Manchester, UK @ New Century

Sat. Jun. 3 – Bristol, UK @ Trinity

Tue. Jun. 6 – Berlin, DE @ Columbia Theatre

Thu. Jun. 8 – Hamburg, DE @ Ueber & Gefährlich

Fri. Jun. 9 – Copenhagen, DK @ Pumpehuset

* w/ Katy Kirby

~ w/ Marina Allen