Born in New York and based in Nashville, Melanie MacLaren is a songwriter who sits at the intersection of a variety of styles and genres. Guided by classic folk sensibilities, she is a traditional singer-songwriter at heart, but elements of dream pop, 70s rock and contemporary indie all play into the style and elevate it into something fresh. The result is a sound indebted to the past and the present without being beholden to either, managing to possess the timeless country spirit without sacrificing any sense of immediacy.
Ahead of her debut EP, Kill My Time, later this autumn, Melanie MacLaren has unveiled her first single, ‘Graveyard Shift’, a song which highlights this aesthetic perfectly. Grounded by the bright fingerpicked guitar, the track begins as a bona fide folk song and slowly unfurls into something more. Because as it develops, the subtle ethereal tone playing behind the track blooms into something far richer, the retro harmonies and vivid synths painting an all-enveloping wistfulness that carries the listener through. Buoyant drums kick in too, giving the track a growing intensity to match the lush textures, and in doing so display Melanie MacLaren’s knack for combining heartfelt emotion and transportive atmopshere.
Graveyard shift,
without a ghost to haunt me
Kill my time,
I am yours if you want me
Check out the video by Sofie Præstgaard below:
Kill My Time will be released in 2022, so keep an eye on the Melanie MacLaren website for more information.
