Cornelia Murr returns with “Meantime” and “How Do You Get By,” two new singles to promote her upcoming album, ‘Run to the Center’ – both tracks reminiscent of her debut album’s enchanting lyrics and production, but with a more folksy, down-to-earth tone.
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Stream: “Meantime” – Cornelia Murr
Cornelia Murr made an impressively embodied debut with her first album, Lake Tear of the Clouds, her vocals dreamily taking listeners into her psyche alongside some hazily psychedelic production.
Lake Tear of the Clouds established Murr as a contemplative artist that lives between a realm of folk and kaleidoscopic sonics, her two new singles “Meantime” and “How Do You Get By” leaning more towards that optimistic and folksy tone that was present in some of her earlier pieces.
The two tracks come from her upcoming album Run to the Center, set to release early next year. The record is said to explore the sense of urgency that comes with being an artist while simultaneously juggling the other supposed milestones that one is supposed to reach in their life, making for a complex thematic backdrop for her sophomore release.
“Meantime” more closely looks at jumping into new eras of life, while “How Do You Get By” unpacks the inherent need, and what can feel like an endless search, for stable ground to land on, the two singles making for a strong representation of what listeners can expect from the new project.
One of the most immediately striking aspects of “Meantime” is the rosy and auspicious nature of the production. There isn’t an overwhelming amount of sounds clashing in the track. Simple piano chords alongside some slow moving drums and strings gives the track a sort of clarity that allows the lyricism to shine through.
Murr says, “‘Meantime’ is about living in the liminal zone of knowing a given chapter has to end, but not being ready to end it yet. Clinging to it for comfort while you can. Still being able to access empathy/ compassion for the innocence underneath adult dysfunction. Yet the dissonance is growing and it’s getting harder to do so. Knowing the kindest thing is to leave.”
This sentiment is clearly expressed through the track’s lyrical characterization alongside the almost idealistic choices in production, such as airy whistle notes following the chorus. It leaves a bittersweet taste behind in listeners’ mouths.
We’re ripping at the seams
The uniform is tired
Meanwhile I see the child in all directions
Meanwhile I want your smile at our reflection
There’s something wrong with me
All I can see
Is the meantime
Is the meantime
“Meantime” serves as the perfect introduction into what Run to the Center promises in terms of its potential narrative at large and where Murr’s sound is headed with this new record.
“How Do You Get By” maintains the same bright tone that “Meantime” gives off, this track in specific more closely examining where we find the reason to carry on with our lives in the face of hardship.
Murr says, “The track feels like an upward climb towards betterment, examining the burdens of economic issues and the search for stability and purpose.” That much is evident in the lyrics.
What’s the richness in your life
From where can you derive
Oh in the dead of night
All alone tending to the fire
Oh how do you get by
Oh how do you get by
Murr pushes home the message that what gets one person to wake up in the morning could very well be the opposite for someone else, further enhancing the album’s potential messaging on reconciling with life’s complexities. She’s “found that people who seem to have wealth in one way are seeking it in another… the song starts with curiosity in others, but it’s also asking yourself: What is it that sustains you? What do we need from each other?”
While Lake Tear of the Clouds lived up in among the transcendental elements in the sky above with mind-bending, soothing sonics, “Meantime” and “How Do You Get By” seem to be more grounded in the folksy elements that were living alongside the spacey facets of her debut album.
The subtle switch in sound makes sense for where Murr finds herself within her career and life at large: “There’s an incredible sense of urgency that has snuck up on me. All of a sudden it feels like I must define my life in some major ways. Am I going to be a mother or not? If so, who am I going to do that with? If so, where am I going to do that? How am I going to afford that? Meanwhile, this feels like the most important time to devote to my work. Life these days is seemingly asking for my commitment to what can feel like contradictory things.”
Perhaps listeners will get the answer’s to Murr’s inner contemplations when Run to the Center releases on February 23rd.
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:: connect with Cornelia Murr here ::
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“How Do You Get By” – Cornelia Murr
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