Singer/songwriter Casey Dubie dives into her refreshingly intimate new album ‘Half-Hearted,’ a radiant record of reflection, connection, and stillness’ beauty born in the morning’s dewy warmth and quiet wonder.
for fans of Holly Humberstone, beabadoobee, Loviet, Gordi
Stream: “Blue and Golden” – Casey Dubie
I want to be a companion to people processing stuff, and by doing that I want to be honest and vulnerable in whatever I’m processing
Born in the morning’s dewy warmth and quiet wonder, Casey Dubie’s sophomore album is a radiant record of reflection and connection: A set of candid conversations between artist and listener shining a light on life’s little moments, thoughts, and feelings that too often pass us by without a second glance. Taking a step back from the everyday herself, Dubie magnifies those ephemeral seconds, stopping the clocks just long enough for us to soak up the full scene and appreciate what it truly means to be present in our own bodies. Intimate, honest, and deeply vulnerable, Half-Hearted captures and distills stillness’ beauty in pools of refreshing sun-kissed indie pop.
It’s a special sonic space for all to dwell in the depths of experience; to press pause and reconnect not only with our surrounding, but also with ourselves.
Light on, break dawn
skip forward choose the ending you want
it won’t take long
don’t hold your breath in while you wait on
’cause you’re so easy breezy boy you don’t even try
you don’t have to try
it’s like memory coming back slow time unfolding
changing sea waving you in blue and golden
memory washing up slow feels like floating
changing sea waving you in blue and golden
– “Blue and Golden,” Casey Dubie
Independently released April 15, 2022, Half-Hearted is an exciting return from singer/songwriter Casey Dubie, not to mention an immersive, mature, and compelling follow-up to 2018’s debut album Into the Moon.
“I wrote these songs in the summer of 2020 when the world was on pause and some things finally caught up to me,” Dubie tells Atwood Magazine. “I always find that when our surroundings grow quiet our insides get louder, asking for the attention they deserve. I was in Vermont at my family’s cabin that I grew up spending my summers at. I wrote every morning for a few hours and these songs were all written in the span of a month. It was an incredibly peaceful time for me writing these, where I gave myself permission to write with my editor brain turned off.”
“This record kind of started as a writing exercise,” she adds. “I was in a dry spell creatively and was scared I had nothing more to say or write. So I told myself, then just write bad songs. Every morning I sat on my porch and wrote whatever I felt like, without judging myself or the song. It’s funny that I still ended up writing my favorite one off the record first, ‘Invisible.’ But I think a lot of artists struggle with turning their editor side off, and this was that for me.”
I always find that when our surroundings grow quiet our insides get louder, asking for the attention they deserve.
We built a city out of sand, carving out our pillows, digging with our hands…
– “I Tried,” Casey Dubie
Born and raised outside Burlington, Vermont and now based in Nashville, Dubie has been a mainstay of Atwood Magazine‘s pages for quite some time. “A kindred spirit to emotionally intelligent rock/pop music makers like Phoebe Bridgers and HAIM, Casey Dubie injects purpose and depth into her songs,” we wrote in a 2018 premiere of her song, “Confetti,” further marveling at her natural ability to evoke a wide spectrum of emotion: “Joy and sadness sit side by side one another as Dubie weaves them together in tales of growing pains and truths learned along the way.”
That artistic spirit has grown bolder over recent years; Dubie’s latest material finds her diving deeper than ever into the moments that move us, and the qualities that make us human.
Dubie describes Half-Hearted as an honest, reflective stream-of-consciousness. “I feel like [the title] summarizes the honesty of the record and how I was feeling in general at the time,” she says. “I want to be a companion to people processing stuff, and by doing that I want to be honest and vulnerable in whatever I’m processing, and help people name stuff through my music.”
That level of wholehearted truth is evident right at the album’s start, with title track “Half-Hearted” setting the scene through lush, lilting melodies and an achingly expressive vocal performance that bears all: “I can’t forget what you said, that I’d given up before I started; that I’d given up before we started,” Dubie sings in a stirring chorus. She plunges into herself to retrieve these words and their underlying sentiments, and she won’t come back up for air for another six songs and 22 minutes.
i feel it, oh i’m getting older
i swear it, the days are getting slower
i’m not the same that i was
i hold a flare up like a flower
red blooming in the air like burning higher
maybe you’ll look down and see me
half hearted
everything feels half hearted
i can’t forget what you said
that i’d given up before i started
that i’d given up before we started
Further highlights include the buoyant and grooving “Blue and Golden” – an invigorating, smile-inducing standout aglow with sweet, seductive harmonies and rich, Fleetwood Mac-esque soft rock sonics – as well as album singles “I Tried” and “Limbo,” with the latter proving an especially entrancing experience. Throughout “Limbo,” Dubie weaves a gently kaleidoscopic landscape out of glistening guitar riffs, moody piano chords, and a dynamic rhythm section that constantly pulses forward, musically and metaphorically pushing her onward. Atop this dulcet world of wonder rises her voice, a soft and radiant presence that captivates the ears and colors our emotional hues, connecting on that deeper level that so very few artists manage to achieve.
talking to you makes me lonely
in the kitchen with your shadow
i’m looking at all the plants on the wall
watching them grow slowly
laying in bed looking out your windows
i always had a hard time staying up late
you had a hard time waking up
Even with the sun full on your face
It’s been a few years since we drove
heat on and open windows
In day’s last hazy glow
watching the sky in limbo
watching you and i in limbo
A sweetly stirring reckoning, “Limbo” reminds us that we’re not alone in our struggles – that everyone’s trying to untangle some kind of mess.
“This song features a lot of real memories from my life,” Dubie tells Atwood Magazine. “It’s largely processing a friendship of mine that feels like it’s in an in-between and trying to figure out how to feel about and navigate it. The verses reach back into the past and the chorus sits in the reality of where things are now — limbo. I thought it was cool to compare the relationship to the sky during sunset, sitting between day and night.”
“It’s one of my favorites on the record and sonically just feels super different and weird in a good way,” she adds. “I love how the verses and the chorus are in two different keys and I love the chaos and drama the brass and percussion bring at the end of the choruses. Life largely feels like it’s in limbo right now too, so even though this is me processing something very personal, I hope others can connect to it both on a personal level and the bigger picture of life right now.”
Staying on the topic of favorites, Dubie cites the stripped-down “Invisible” as a personal highlight. “I think ‘Invisible’ is most special to me because it was the first one I wrote after my dry spell and is a true stream of consciousness,” she reflects. “We also live tracked it in the studio, which I think captures the rawness of the song.
I just want to sit here in the doorway, watch the sun on the water sway like Christmas lights in June, and not think about you…
– “Invisible,” Casey Dubie
Casey Dubie has always approached her music with melodic passion and lyrical honesty, but Half-Hearted goes above and beyond in creating a space of tenderness, tranquility, and release.
“I hope listeners are given a safe space to process unprocessed feelings, feel seen, and hopefully even jam out,” Dubie shares. “Half-Hearted is a time capsule for me which is really special. I bottled up those porch mornings into a record.”
Experience the full record via our below stream, and peek inside Casey Dubie’s Half-Hearted with Atwood Magazine as the singer/songwriter goes track-by-track through the music and lyrics of her sophomore LP!
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:: stream/purchase Casey Dubie here ::
Stream: ‘Half-Hearted’ – Casey Dubie
:: Inside Half-Hearted ::
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Half-Hearted
I wrote this record and song at the height of the pandemic and it was me processing all the apathy, loneliness, and discouragement that came along with it, as well as a very specific interaction I had with a former friend that I’ve never been able to shake.
Blue and Golden
This song is about how our perception of ourselves isn’t usually right and how we construct our own realities.
I Tried
I wrote this after putting myself in the shoes of someone close to me who was really struggling. In this song I imagined what it was like to go through what they were and tried imagining a different outcome for them.
I Let You Win
This song is essentially about how I’m a people pleaser and I let people walk over me for the sake of harmony.
Invisible
This song is very special to me. I wrote it after about a year and a half of not being able to write anything at all, and was scared that that well was dried up. Summer 2020 we spent the summer at the cabin in Vermont I grew up in, and one morning this song poured out of me. The editor side of my brain finally turned off and I was able to just write. This song is an honest stream of consciousness and doesn’t really follow the rules of “songwriting” (whatever those are). I think that’s why I love it, it’s 100% honest, raw and simple, and unedited. It’s about the tension of living with a busy mind while trying to be present and how frustrating it can be to not be able to turn off your mind when you want to. It’s about how when stuff around me is finally quiet, my insides rage, until they finally quiet down after getting heard. It’s also special to me because micah and I live tracked it, him on guitar, me on vocals, so it really kept that intimate, raw feel. I hope you resonate with it and that you feel heard and seen about struggling with how hard it can be to feel present and quiet.
Limbo
This song features a lot of real memories from my life. It’s largely processing a friendship of mine that feels like it’s in an in-between and trying to figure out how to feel about and navigate it. I thought it was cool to compare the relationship to the sky during sunset, sitting between day and night. Life largely feels like it’s in limbo right now too so even though this is me processing something very personal, I hope you can connect to it either on a personal level or in the bigger picture of life right now.
Watch the Sun
My life has been quite nomadic since I graduated college. I’ve moved a lot and had a lot of change. I also feel like there’s almost pressure now to have a nomadic life, full of travel and new experiences. This song was expressing a desire I have to stay still, plant roots, and get to know a place in all its seasons + forms, which requires a lot of time.
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