Colorado sister duo Companion dive into the beautiful folk and cathartic depths of their debut album ‘Second Day of Spring,’ an inspiring source of light, love, and warmth.
for fans of Big Thief, The Staves, First Aid Kit, Joseph, Tomberlin
Stream: “How Could I Have Known” – Companion
An intimately beautiful folk record full of soothing sounds and stirring lyricism, Companion’s debut album is the soundtrack to our primaveral rebirth and renewal: A cathartic journey through and through, Second Day of Spring is an inspiring source of light, love, and warmth.
When we first met
I was struck, I was new
You felt what did not exist
You fed me, and I grew
So how could I have known?
The sudden wind that brings you
Will be the wind that takes you
The same fate that brought you
Will be the fate that takes you
How could I have known?
Independently released May 27, 2022, Second Day of Spring is an irresistible outpouring of gorgeous, glistening fresh folk. Companion are in full bloom on their debut album, channeling intimate experiences of pain and healing, love and self-discovery through a delicately captivating tapestry of resonant acoustic guitars and rich, textured vocal harmonies.
The Fort Collins, Colorado-based duo of identical twin sisters Sophia and Jo Babb, Companion introduced themselves late last year and have been enchanting our ears ever since. Atwood Magazine previously praised their debut single “How Could I Have Known” as a hauntingly beautiful gust of warm indie folk wonder – a song as breathtaking as it is bittersweet.
“Companion come to life in their debut single full of sweet harmonies and intoxicating, filmic indie folk guitar and drums work,” we wrote at the time. “Like a sleeping giant, there’s a grandeur to this unassuming song; a grace that shines an invisible, but palpable light out into the universe.”
That light glows even brighter on the duo’s first full-length album, a collection of tender and warm songs that ache is all the right ways.
“A lot of this album is rooted in healing from familial hurt, and welcoming in new life,” Companion tell Atwood Magazine. “There are songs about marriage, motherhood, healing from mistrust, and family ties that have been broken – we talk about it all on this record. It’s been 10 years since our dad died, and it’s taken 10 years for us to get to this point where we feel like trusting. So, we wanted the sounds and lyrics on this album to sound like they’re heading towards a new season. We no longer feel drawn toward chaos or constant darkness, whether it was self-manufactured darkness or just bad luck. We both feel better and more alive – we’re not unhappy every day anymore. And this album is like that next step toward this new phase of life. This record came about after three or so years of honing our songwriting, discovering our truest sound, and trying out new things – thus leading to Second Day of Spring.“
“Our vision was simply to capture the intimacy of our songwriting and performance,” they continue. “For about a year, we held on to these songs with no intention of recording them. It was only when a friend and fellow Colorado musician, Courtney Hartman, approached us about recording that we began to even consider the process. Courtney engineered the record in her barn’s loft, which also happened to be her bedroom, kitchen, and living room all at once. It was as intimate and authentic as we hoped it’d be. We’re endlessly grateful to Courtney for providing such a beautiful, cozy space to record in and the kindest direction we could ever ask for.”
“This record captures the lyrical emphasis of our artistry while simultaneously carrying so much of our personal history within it; from the loss of our father, to struggles within family dynamics, our value of deep friendship, and lessons learned from love and love lost. Listeners can take away pieces of who we are from each song, and ideally, find a piece of themselves as well.”
Companion’s music channels springtime’s spirit of renewal and rejuvenation.
The title is an allusion to this quality they hold so dear: “We associate each spring with new chances and chapters – an opportunity to start again,” they explain. “Though the title track Second Day of Spring isn’t necessarily a hopeful song, it’s centered around an ending, which we like to think of as the precipice of a new start. We feel the title speaks to growth and change all around.”
Whether they’re singing about love or loss, weaving brightly cinematic songs or dwelling in softer, quieter depths, Companion consistently inspire – lighting a fire deep within their audience. From the opening moments of “How Could I Have Known” and “Forfeit,” to the gut-wrenching, heartaching standout “If I Were a Ghost” and the ethereal immersion “Snowbank,” right through to the radiant title track and the comforting finale “Waiting for You,” Second Day of Spring is a cool balm, a musical blanket, a sanctuary, and a source of true inner light.
If I were a ghost in this house
I’d see all of your pictures hung up
I’d walk through the hallways
that I used to love
I’d see all your new pictures hung up
If I were a ghost in this house
I’d watch when your mind was away
how it would drift
and be prone to fall into
the old ways of me and you
I’d give my body away,
if I could slip in and sleep by your side
I’d give my body away
If I were a ghost in this house
If I were a ghost in this house
“‘Arm’s Length’ and ‘If I Were a Ghost’ both mean a lot to us in similar ways,” Companion say on the topic of favorites. “‘If I Were a Ghost’ is the oldest song of ours on the record–we’ve seemingly grown up with it and it’s been there beside us all these years, sharing the story of the loss of our father from the perspective of our mother. ‘Arm’s Length’ is the flip side of that song, sharing the tension that came between our family members from that loss.”
As lyricists, they also cite two particularly special, moving moments on the album: “’Maybe I’m not warmed up yet, I’m wearing armor from a different past. But demanding trust is an impossible thing, akin to being taught to laugh‘ from ‘Arm’s Length’ is a major favorite of mine,” Jo notes. “Sophia wrote this line and it feels so deeply resonant. Also, ‘We led ourselves through mazes and raced ‘em to a dead end. Across mountain trails and river beds, through broken men‘ from ’23rd Street’ is another mutual favorite, probably because it’s the real truth of how our early twenties were experienced.”
There is tremendous beauty to be found throughout this album.
Companion’s sweetly stirring songs are a bridge between their hearts and our own. They hold nothing back in their songs, plunging into life’s hardest moments in search of meaning, connection, and closure. In the process, they inevitably find sparks of light that lead the way out. If music could be a panacea – a cure-all for the woes of the world – then this record would be the prescription. It’s a wondrous and welcome elixir for the soul.
“We want our listeners just to have a feeling of contentment,” Companion share, “and to know there’s nothing really to do with that other than just to think, ‘I’m glad I’m alive today. I’m glad I get to see this. There is still beauty, even amidst all the darkness.'” Experience the full record via our below stream, and peek inside Companion’s Second Day of Spring with Atwood Magazine as Sophia and Jo Babb take us track-by-track through the music and lyrics of their debut album!
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:: stream/purchase Second Day of Spring here ::
Stream: ‘Second Day of Spring’ – Companion
:: Inside Second Day of Spring ::
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How Could I Have Known
Sophia: I wrote this song just after getting engaged – I was thinking about all the favorable circumstances that led me to meet my love, and how that same fate that brought him to me could be the same one that takes him away. It’s a song about being in the right place at the right time, fate & its mysterious inner workings, and a meditation on the permanence of impermanence.
Forfeit
Jo: During the onset of the pandemic in March of 2020 I became very close with a new friend who just so happened to live down the street. We went on long walks which came with winding conversations that brought us closer together than we had ever imagined we’d be. Forfeit is for that dear friend and all the other friends I’ve come to know over the past two years.
Arm’s Length
Sophia: Loving someone who has hurt you from an “arm’s length” often feels like the safest way to keep that person in your life, without risking them hurting you again. But this kind of love often brings a hurt of its own. This song is about the necessary space a broken relationship often needs not just to heal, but to survive.
If I Were a Ghost
Sophia: Our father took his own life when we were 13 and in many ways, we lost parts of our mother along with him. It was difficult to navigate grief through adolescence while our mother navigated her own loss. After a particularly hard day, we started writing in an attempt to understand what it would be like to lose the love of your life & father of your children all at once. Thus came “If I Were a Ghost,” a song about trying to work through that grief, loneliness, and longing.
Snowbank
Jo: I wrote this song after a blustery February night when a blizzard took over the entire town. I was with a dear friend of mine who I had known meant quite a bit to me, but by the end of the night, it was clear she meant much more than I had previously known. I like to reference Snowbank as a “sapphic love song” for anyone who has experienced yearning.
23rd Street
Sophia: “23rd Street” was written during a time saturated with change. We were living in downtown Oklahoma City, a couple of blocks from the busy street the song is named after. In times of change, we often find ourselves experiencing a feeling we can only describe as “pre-nostalgia” — it’s the feeling, or realization, that things will never be the same as they are now. Though you may come back to the same places, or reunite with old friends — the feeling you had then won’t ever quite come back the same way. This song & this album perfectly encapsulate this feeling of impermanence, new growth, and change for us.
Second Day of Spring
Jo: I wrote Second Day of Spring in the midst of realizing I had to end the relationship I was currently in. It was both difficult and freeing all at once to know I was setting out towards a new beginning, but it was hard knowing that my freedom came with the responsibility of letting someone close to me go.
Newborn of Springtime
Sophia: I wrote this song long before I was married, but knowing that I would likely marry my then partner and imagining a future together. The song is about long love, how marriage changes two spirits, and the beauty of healing and hurting together.
Sunday Morning
Jo: Sunday Morning is a short little instrumental inspired by the joy found in breakfast with friends, open windows, and new beginnings. It’s a sweet lead into the last track on the record, serving as a cheery little farewell.
Waiting For You
Jo: The first half of Waiting For You was written as an intention to find a deep true love that I’d been yearning to find. The second half of the song came about as soon as that love was found.
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:: stream/purchase Second Day of Spring here ::
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