Sawdust & Fairytales

About the album

Sawdust & Fairytales is the second full-length album by California-based folk rock band The Treacherous French. The album represents a culmination of four years of songwriting since the release of their first album, Snapshots. These past four years have been turbulent for the band, having experienced a divorce, loss of a house due to a wildfire, and of course, a worldwide pandemic, all against the backdrop of some wild political shenanigans. Now, you may think that an album born from these experiences would be filled with heartbreak and sadness, and there are elements of that, but there are also elements of love and hope woven throughout. With songs that will both break your heart and make you want to dance, Sawdust & Fairytales reminds us that even in the darkest of days, life and love always find a way to shine through. 

The nine new originals and one cover song on Sawdust & Fairytales were developed on and off between 2018 and 2022 while the band continued playing shows locally, right up until we all had to go inside in March 2020. After coming out of hiding towards the end of 2021, they enlisted the help of fellow musician, friend, and collaborator, Jason Gonzales (Sycamore Willow), to produce and engineer the project. They rented a farmhouse in the Sierra Nevada foothills, in the heart of California’s gold country, and converted a rec room into a makeshift recording studio. In their new home away from home, they braved 100+ degree heat, a thunderstorm, shoddy air conditioning, and wildlife, and came home from the long weekend with ten songs ready for mixing and final production.

Look for CD and vinyl copies of Sawdust & Fairytales online, in San Francisco Bay Area record stores, and on your favorite streaming platforms.