Lia Pappas-Kemps has the ideal soundtrack for the quiet reflectiveness accompanying this time with her new single, “Catch Release.” A highlight of her freshly released EP, Gleam, “Catch Release” cements Lia’s status as a songwriter who doesn’t tell stories as much as she lives in them.
On the heels of the melancholic magic of “Sad in Toronto,” Lia continues to deal with the complexities of emotion, but in this latest song, she leans into a fragile yet assured sense of release. Produced by Nathan Ferraro, “Catch Release” marries her trademark intimate lyricism with a generous sonic landscape. Tender acoustic layers give way to swelling crescendos, reflecting the push and pull of learning to let go. Her voice, simultaneously airy and heavy with emotion, owns a kind of muted devastation, as though every note were a confession offered in the dark.
“Catch Release” highlights how Lia is broadening out musically, still raw, still profoundly personal, and embedded in her experiences, but adding a new depth that shows she’s growing as a musical creator and a storyteller. Whether you’re in the market for a tune that will calm your overactive mind or want to get swept up in a perfectly constructed indie-folk treasure, “Catch Release” is essential listening.