The first time we laid ears on Calgary singer-songwriter vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Kirsten Ludwig was through her track ‘Cinnamon’ a complex work built equally and meticulously around beautifully arranged piano and guitar off her 2016 record Honest Tracks. As those six tracks indicated as did her debut in 2014 Drifting, the deep thinking Ludwig never threatens with the conventional and clean. Her honest with the self songwriting and refusal to adhere to musical expectations always ensure that thankfully she’ll keep throwing up delectable surprises like the driving disquiet of ‘There You Are’, the first single from her forthcoming album We Get It Now.
Beautifully written with surface references to alt-country, pop and 70’s am rock, its glistening melodies give lie to the disquiet found in the mirage like effects and the ever present reverb that seeps into every nook and cranny. They and the lyrical disconnectedness perfectly capture Ludwig’s headspace and inability to move on from a past relationship and its driving nature reflects the inordinate distances she covered touring Honest Tracks after it ended which in the end proved to be a double edged sword. On the one hand it left her plenty of time to get trapped in her own thoughts but also provided her the scope for self-examination and a chance to work out how to be free from them. Speaking with Paste Magazine Ludwig had this to say about the track;
It felt like every time I got in the car to make the trek to the next show, that person was there, again, with me and I couldn’t seem to get away. In a sense, this is the “I’m sorry” song on the record—detailing my shortcomings as well as theirs. I somehow found the strength to admit that there are two sides to everything after all.
Recorded in Victoria, British Columbia and produced by Colin Stewart and Ludwig herself We Get It Now will be available on October 5 through Kathryn Calder’s label Oskar St Records. Pre-order here.
Tracklist
1. Back To Bed
2. Borderline
3. There You Are
4. We Get It Now
5. Traits
6. Dead Space
7. Golden Girl
8. The Other Side
9. Something I Wanted To Know
There You Are
Kirsten Ludwig (CAN)
From the forthcoming album , We Get It Now’, Oskar St Records. Out Oct. 5.
Audio Stream