Isaac Stalling meets us with “Covers,” a song that less introduces than bears the intimate letter he wrote himself. Written in the first few weeks after his move from Oklahoma City to Brooklyn, the track documents that delicate but electric stage where loneliness becomes adventure.
Instead of polishing the song with studio shine, Stalling and producer/engineer Sam Skinner, who’s best known for his work with Pinegrove, opt to dress it down, leaving it brooding like in a quiet truth. Their philosophy was simple, no nonsense, no overproduction, no masks. Each note, each strum, each breath is alive and intentionally rough around the edges, uttering undeniable human-ness.
The song embraces transition, capturing the rough edges of yanking your life out by the roots and realizing you can find solace in yourself. It’s a meditation on beginning again, related not in grand pronouncements but rather in small textures and down-to-earth sincerity.
There’s a quiet courage in “Covers,”. I appreciate the refusal to bury it behind layers and, instead, let the imperfections emerge as testimony to something real. Especially for a debut, Stalling’s decision to tread the fine line between withholding and revelation feels remarkably assured. Isaac Stalling announces that his solo trek is one potentially worth following, not because of grandeur, but truth.