Photo: Tony Hammons
Driven by multiple layers of gorgeous vocal harmonies, Kristin Chambers commands her ballad, ‘Springtime Sugarcane’, with a cathartic resonance. Musically, the track builds into a glorious crescendo, invoking the same sort of power that one might traditionally take from a scorching pop anthem. Tinges of folk pervade the tune, too, however—a spoonful of twang here, a heaping spoonful of forthright storytelling front-and-center. It’s a lovely piece of work, and one that works wonders to represent the Seattle singer-songwriter’s upcoming album, Unravel Me, set to be released on 14 September.
On, ‘Springtime Sugarcane’, Chambers tells For Folk’s Sake…
“‘Springtime Sugarcane’ is about the end of a love relationship. I remember in my NY days being in a relationship, knowing it may be headed toward the end, but neither of us were ready to end it, for whatever reasons we had at the time. With this song the music existed first, with its melancholy feel, it was pretty natural to call on the subject matter- to go to this sad state I had been in before. ‘You started to pray in a whole new way,’ really felt right and evolved for me to say now. To look back on a situation in retrospect and just see it hindsight 20/20. That person was just changing the way they needed to, and I’m not angry anymore. So I suppose Sugarcane was one of those cathartic gems.”
Words by: Jonathan Frahm (@jfrahm_)
Photo: Tony Hammons