Ivy – Traces Of You
Today, Ivy have announced their first new album in 15 years. Built from the ground up using demos and song fragments dating from between 1995 to 2012, Traces of You is due out September 5th via Bar/None Records.
“The world thought IVY was gone after 2012, and for a time we did too. And after Adam’s death in 2020 it seemed certain,” shares the band’s Andy Chase “So Dominique and I are thrilled to give everyone a brand new IVY album, with our beloved Adam playing on every song!”
Formed in 1994, Ivy includes Andy Chase, Dominique Durand, and the late Adam Schlesinger. Sadly, Durand and Chase assumed that Ivy was in the rearview after Schlesinger tragically passed away from COVID-19 in 2020. While prepping recent reissues of their back catalog, the band unearthed a trove of reel-to-reel tapes and old hard drives stored in their Rhode Island studio. The duo knew they would only consider working on Ivy demos featuring Schlesinger, but they were overwhelmed by deciding which songs to finish. In response, they reached out to Ivy’s backing keyboardist and guitarist, Bruce Driscoll, to help go through the archives and revive these lost recordings.
Every song on Traces of You features contributions from Schlesinger, with the blessing of his family. The resulting music possesses the twinkling magic of Ivy’s classic work, paired with the kind of emotional wisdom gleaned from surviving life’s most challenging moments. Lead single “Say You Will,” an oceanic synth-pop song featuring drums from Joey Waronker (Beck, R.E.M.), was built from a 2009 demo where Schlesinger played bass and keyboard.
From their 1995 debut Realistic on forward, Ivy specialized in chic pop music brimming with empathy and gorgeous textures. Their six studio albums featured exquisite arrangements and influences: 1997’s Apartment Life was an indie-pop classic; 2000’s Long Distance incorporated trip-hop and a Stereolab-esque electronic sheen; and 2005’s In the Clear was a glowing synth-pop opus. Along the way, Ivy dabbled in the film world, contributing a cover of Steely Dan’s “Only a Fool Would Say That” to the movie Me, Myself & Irene and scoring the film Shallow Hal, among others.
Over the years, a new generation of artists discovered Ivy, citing them as a major inspiration and influence, recognizing the cinematic nature of Durand’s vocals, and the band’s airtight arrangements and airy dreampop sound. These include some of indie’s biggest names (Snail Mail, Beach Fossils) and emerging artists who are making huge waves in 2025 (Momma, Slow Pulp, Wishy, DJ Python).
The band broke their years long silence in late 2021 to honor the passing of Adam Schlesinger, compiling home videos from studio sessions and those early tours in memory of their friend and bandmate into a moving tribute video. Over the last few years, they’ve reissued Realistic, Apartment Life, and Long Distance, including rare demos and unreleased music with each release.
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