Shane Bartell

Shane Bartell grew up in the Texas Hill Country, surrounded by cowboy boots and snuff -- cultural references erased by his turning-point discovery of The Smiths and The Pixies. Moving to music-mecca Austin in the 90s, he spent several years as the guitarist for the female-fronted band Cling and enjoyed sharing stages with the likes of Oasis and Liz Phair. Soon, Bartell decided to focus on songwriting, so he relocated to Portland, Oregon, where he holed up with the famous Pacific Northwest rain as his backdrop. The results were magical. After a return returned to Austin in 2000, he quickly recruited a band and developed a famously loyal following that surprised club owners by singing along even before he had released a CD. The media took notice, and Bartell experienced lavish praise both on radio and in print. He then recorded Too Soon To Say (Sarathan Records) with producer Lars Goransson (The Cardigans, Blondie).

Shane Bartell is concerned primarily with provocative, descriptive storytelling. A song cycle that loosely traces the rise and fall of an epic relationship – from its ponderous, eager origins through an excruciatingly anticlimactic end - his first album Too Soon To Say details all the longing, nostalgia, regret, anger, and acceptance inevitably chained to meeting and then losing a lover.