Schaefer Llana Full Circle
Before settling in Austin, Texas, Missouri-born, Mississippi-raised Schaefer Llana worked as an assistant engineer at Dial Back Sound, Matt Patton’s studio. Patton is a member of the Drive-By Truckers. Llana often sang backup during recording sessions, where she met Jimbo Mathus of Squirrel Nut Zippers and The Black Keys. He brought her in to sing on albums he was making, then took her on tour with his band for several years.
For her first album, Full Circle, Llana went back to Dial Back Sound to record with longtime friends. The songs explore how life changes over time and how earlier experiences shape the way we live today.
Llana says, “Starting this album, I knew I wanted to go back and record there again with the same group of friends after learning and growing so much. That’s where the album title, Full Circle, came from. Some of these songs are first takes and I did minimal overdubbing. I wanted it to sound like us right then and there. All of the lead vocals are live and on the spot, imperfections and all, but as Matt Patton says, ‘a recording is a photograph.’ This album is a collection of captured moments made in Mississippi by the very people I love there.”
Highlights on the album include “Big Plans,” a personal favorite because of its teeter-tottering flow, raw instrumentation, and Llana’s evocative vocals – relaxed and emotionally expressive. A dirty guitar solo gives the tune realness.
“Court Street” features jangly guitars riding a mid-tempo, rolling rhythm. The melancholic feel of the song imbues it with delicious intimacy, as Llana’s voice projects sad loneliness.
On “Wednesday is Green,” Llana reveals the eloquence of her voice and a gentle serenity. Whereas the retro-flavored “Skateland” travels on a deep, haunting bassline and loose, crunchy percussion. The melody sways and drifts while Llana’s vocals permeate the lyrics with alluring, dreamy nostalgia.
Talking about the song, Llana says, “’Skateland Baby’ is a song written by Jimbo Mathus about a first love. He says it’s about holding her hand and ‘skating around the rink one way…and then the other.’ I used to play this song a lot when I was in his band on the road, and I was drawn to it because it felt timeless. Everyone knows the bliss of falling. Skateland tells you where he lands.”
Llana’s distinctive voice is the best part of the album: at once atmospheric and charming, it’s at times ghostly, at other times effortlessly personal, yet always compelling.
Full Circle is a quietly captivating debut that lets Schaefer Llana’s voice provide the icing on the cake. She makes every song feel close.
Discover more about Schaefer Llana here.
Schaefer Llana and Starlin Browning produced the album. Browning also recorded and mixed it at Dial Back Sound in Water Valley, Mississippi, while Clay Jones mastered it at Pete’s Room in Taylor, Mississippi. Llana sings and plays acoustic guitar, 12-string acoustic guitar, organ, and guitar/percussion. Ben Yarbrough plays electric guitars and lead acoustic guitar and adds vocals. Browning plays bass guitar, handles tape manipulation, and adds vocals, while Taylor Whyte plays drums.