Each of these LITM Singer-Songwriter Picks makes you sit and think in its own way – featuring Gejo, Lancaster Rayne, Jessie Jayne, and more.
1. Gejo – Callous
Starting off soft and acoustic, Gejo’s Callous unfolds around 30 seconds in, revealing a percussive layer that’s equally soft and almost uplifting. It’s easy to think that this track is happy, carefree, and bright, and you’d be forgiven for thinking so; however, peeling a layer back immediately reveals a disorienting, angrier side – anger at letting yourself be “pushed around”, exhaustion at what comes after – and the contrast between the two sounds creates a tension that has you sticking around. The vocal performance here is outstanding, balancing this anger and overwhelm with restraint, keeping things sounding natural rather than forced emotions spilling out. Listen to Callous here.
2. Lancaster Rayne – I Don’t Wanna Love You
“I don’t wanna love you anymore / I want my life like it was before… I want to do what I want whenever I want to do it.”
So opens Lancaster Rayne’s latest single, I Don’t Wanna Love You, filled with country twang that isn’t afraid to step beyond what traditional Americana sounds like. It balances moodiness with spurts of carefree attitude, and is, at its core, unpredictable – just when you think you know what’s possibly coming next, you get thrown a curveball that keeps you on your toes. The song perfectly captures what it’s like to convince yourself (and everyone else) that you’ve totally moved on, even when everything still reminds you of them. Listen here!
3. Jessie Jayne – Steady Rain
Jessie Jayne’s Steady Rain uses the imagery of rain and its persistence and persistence to emotionally immerse you; with motifs and metaphors that constantly bring this idea to life, the track may seem smooth and calm on the surface, but there’s a constant tension bubbling beneath, threatening to spill out. Produced and performed to create a sense of vastness and airiness, Jayne’s vocal delivery on the track stays grounded, not drifting away and becoming overly grandiose even when the themes and sound allow it – this restraint and composure is visible across every layer on the track. Check Steady Rain out here!
4. The Rotations – The Cat That Got The Cream
The Cat That Got The Cream is bizarre in the most wonderful ways – it feels like a psychedelic fever dream you can only grasp snatches of when you eventually wake. Laid on plonky (there’s no other way to capture its sound) piano that’s eventually surrounded by instruments that feel louder than they are and a voice that seems softer than it is, the track is full of eccentricity – from seemingly random flourishes to elements that keep branching off and coming back when they feel like it – but underneath what feels like chaos is The Rotations’ impressive control of music that holds everything from flying off in any and every direction. Listen here!
5. emma miller – Siren
Siren opens emma miller’s latest EP, I want to Be the Anchor, creating an atmosphere that seems to extend in every direction. Soft piano and clear vocals form this heartwrenching track that builds up to asking, “Can we have peace in this house?” with a voice that’s simultaneously pleading, angry, and sincere. There are times when you want to express something that feels too vast to even approach, and simplicity and directness work wonders in encapsulating these feelings, instead of flowery metaphors that only dilute the message, and this track is the perfect example. It’s sure to make you sit and reexamine your part – or lack thereof – in the constant pain that seems to have entered the world. Listen here.
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