If Only There Was A River is the first full-length studio album from Anna St. Louis. The songwriter, who originally hails from Kansas City, began writing songs after moving to LosAngeles five years ago and has previously released a cassette of recordings on Woodsist /Mare Records, appropriately titledFirst Songs. The tape received notice from NPR: All SongsConsidered, Pitchfork, and Stereogum.

On her proper debut, St. Louis, spreads her wings and expands on the promise hinted at on First Songs.To achieve that end, St. Louis enlisted Kyle Thomas (King Tuff) and Kevin Morby to produce the album, which was engineered by Thomas in his home in MountWashington, LA. The collection of 11 songs also features Justin Sullivan (Night Shop) on drums and multi-instrumentalist Oliver Hill (Pavo Pavo). While hints of influences like LorettaLynn, John Fahey and Townes Van Zandt peek out of the corners of the songs, If Only There Was a River is not a nostalgic affair. Rather it marks the emergence of an artist fully coming into their own.