Singer/songwriter and Atwood artist-to-watch Cecilia Castleman dwells in what once was in her beautiful new single “Looking for June,” a warm and wistful song that aches inside and out.
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“Looking for June” – Cecilia Castleman
It isn’t a negative song, it’s just about coming to terms with the idea that people grow and change, and that’s totally supposed to happen.
In truth, aren’t we all looking for June these days?
The heat of the summer has passed us by, and now it’s late October: The leaves are changing from green to gold and brown, and while it’s always a beauty to behold nature’s seasonal transformation, the days themselves are getting colder and shorter. Autumn is steeped in nostalgia for a reason; one can’t help but miss what came before, be it the literal warmth of the recent past, or a more metaphorical, emotional one. Singer/songwriter Cecilia Castleman dwells in what once was in her hauntingly beautiful new single “Looking for June,” an achingly wistful song of time’s change and people growing apart.
Who’s to say what makes us become the people we are? Sometimes you can’t help but watch a runaway train in motion, knowing you’re destined for a different path, but not quite ready to say goodbye.
You’re on my mind
Just like a golden sky
It’s pretty but fading
The sun hits your face before it’s dark
Do I wanna cry?
Do I wanna smile wide?
‘Cause I know it’s aging
and we’re growing further and further apart
Released September 13th via Glassnote, “Looking for June” is a delicate and all-consuming enchantment. Cecilia Castleman’s second single of the year (following this past spring’s “Can’t Escape a Broken Heart,” featuring English artist Benjamin Francis Leftwich) arrives with the long-awaited, highly-anticipated news of her upcoming debut album: The eponymous Cecilia Castleman is set to release on January 24th, and will serve as a definitive introduction to the 23-year-old Nashville-based singer/songwriter, who has been steadily teasing out singles since 2022.
A 2023 and 2024 Atwood Magazine artist-to-watch and Editor’s Pick, Cecilia Castleman has been on the cusp of a breakout for some time now.
“To listen to Cecilia Castleman’s organic, airy, and magnetic voice is to revisit old heartbreak… old love… old joys, and to feel too close to hers,” Atwood writer Noah Wade wrote earlier this year. “Her songs are wistful and pure… easy listening but still deserving of the listeners’ full attention. Influenced by the Bonnie Raitt’s and Brian Wilson’s of the world, she ensures that her natural musicianship and vocal ability are front and center of her material. The sounds of classic country music seeps into her sound, but she also explores adult contemporary, light synth pop, and blues.”
“Looking for June” is the latest in a long string of singles that have earned Castleman well-deserved early acclaim throughout the music industry; 2023 even saw her opening for artists like Hozier and Patrick Droney on their Nashville tour stops.
“‘Looking for June’ was one of the only songs I started with the title,” Castleman tells Atwood Magazine. “It was interesting cause I always saw June as a person, but Hank Compton, whom I wrote it with, made it about a season. It completely made the meaning so much more. Sort of like ‘I’m waiting for you to be here with me now and you’re already off to the next chapter of your life’ – like the coming-of-age aspect; just two people who are on different wavelengths. It isn’t a negative song, it’s just about coming to terms with the idea that people grow and change, and that’s totally supposed to happen.”
Castleman reaches an emotional climax in her song’s catchy and cathartic chorus, reckoning with the bittersweet realization that two souls are moving in opposite directions and seemingly destined to part:
I’m looking for you
And you’re looking for June
Then the cold came through
Now you’re looking for June
Change is a natural part of life, and the more we embrace it and accept it, the better off we’ll be; of course, that doesn’t make adapting any easier. “Looking for June” aches inside and out as emotionally charged guitar riffs cascade over the ears, Castleman’s golden voice injecting her own raw, visceral hurt into the mix. It’s a poignant, painful moment for the narrator, and an equally intense and powerful one for Castleman’s listeners as she lets her heavy feelings linger in the air, soaking us to the bone.
We sat on the bridge
I watched as my feet hung down
Above the water,
the sun was as hot as your cigarette
And you would get off at five
And we would drive all night
You picked me up then,
but now you’re just letting me down again
I’m looking for you (I’m looking for you)
And you’re looking for June
Then the cold came through
(Yeah the cold came through)
Now you’re looking for June
The second verse leads to an even bigger upheaval in the second chorus (above), which Castleman says is her personal highlight of the whole track. “I like the drum hit before the second chorus… it’s so freeing to me,” she says. “The whole song kind of builds up to that moment, and then the chorus lyrics I love… the sections in the song transition so nicely; it sort of sonically mimics the metaphor of the song itself.”
“I hope they find themselves in it,” she adds. “It’s a song that has kept me company for a long time, so hopefully it will do the same for them.”
You picked me up then, but now you’re just letting me down again…
Whether you’re lost in dreams of summers past, or simply ready for your next nostalgia-soaked reverie, “Looking for June” is ready to be a soundtrack to any and all wistful walks down memory lane.
In many ways, Cecilia Castleman’s latest single is the perfect pop song – and we’re happy to bask, or dwell, in its brooding depths for as long as time permits. Stay tuned for the singer/songwriter’s debut album, dropping this January!
I’m looking for you (I’m looking for you)
And you’re looking for June
Then the cold came through
(Yeah the cold came through)
Now you’re looking for June
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:: connect with Cecilia Castleman here ::
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“Looking for June” – Cecilia Castleman
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