CF Watkins might be based in Brooklyn, but her pop-inflected Americana makes clear her North Carolina roots. Debut record I Am New balanced folk sensibilities with cool synth and soul influences, the sound as much James Blake as any country star. But no matter how blurred the genres lines became, there was little doubt beneath the surface. These were folk songs.
The latest CF Watkins record, Babygirl, set for release this autumn via Whatever’s Clever Records, ditches the ambiguity. And, in embracing the folk style more fully, Watkins locates a sound increasingly empowered, authentic and confident. “When I think about my last album, I feel I was writing songs about weakness,” Watkins says. “With this album, I made a conscious effort to write songs about the power of choosing yourself.”
Ideas of empowerment are prominent in the album’s themes too. Babygirl is a record about growing up and coming of age, and finding true meaning not in the saccharine love of the country hits but in that of friendship. “Romances have come in and out of my life,” Watkins says. “But through it all, the relationships that continue to open my heart the most are grounded in the women I’ve known.”
Lead single ‘Frances’ is based around one such woman, or rather her strange presence/absence even after passing. Written about her grandmother, the song was inspired by a visit Watkins paid to her grandfather, who was in hospital having developed Alzheimer’s. “One day toward the end, I was visiting him in the hospital and my dad told me it was not a good day and not to be hurt if he didn’t recognize or speak to me,” Watkins explains. Only he did speak, as Watkins goes on to describe:
When I approached his bed, he immediately started crying, which I had never seen before. He grabbed my hand and told me he was sorry. He said, ‘I should have told you I loved you more, I should have told you I loved you every day.’ I told him I knew he loved me, and he said, ‘Frances, I’m so sorry.’ I realized then that he thought I was her.
The encounter both reinforced the loss of Watkins’ grandmother and highlighted her perseverance too, her connection to both her husband and granddaughter unbroken by death. The single follows this idea to its beautiful, melancholic center, where we are bound to those we love beyond our understanding, and every hope and regret can blossom once more.
I don’t want to go into the night, into the night all alone
And I swear I saw you float right outside my window
And all the fools keep trying to talk to me as if they know meBut I don’t want to have to try and wait for you
I don’t want to have to wait for you no more
No honey I don’t want to have to wait for you
I don’t want to have to wait for you no more
