Feature: Sloan Golden Debuts With Intimacy, Intentionality, & 'Long Conversations'

With its warm hues and gentle weight, Sloan Golden’s debut EP ‘Long Conversations’ is a record of reflection and reckoning, a blanket of connection and understanding, and a journey into the raw depths of one unfiltered, unabridged heart and soul.

Stream: “Missing Stair” – Sloan Golden

Sloan Golden has never shied away from a deep heart-to-heart.

In fact, it’s those most intimate life moments – when you really get to know someone inside and out – where she truly thrives.

“Really intense long conversations were the theme of my senior year of high school and college career,” the artist – born Sloan Pecchia – tells Atwood Magazine. “I would often have these very lengthy emotional chats with people that would span anywhere from two to seven hours, and would often happen in the middle of the night.”

Those talks left such a mark on Pecchia, that when it came time to give her debut EP a title, the choice was almost too obvious. “I felt like those conversations had such an impact on me and were so intertwined with the happenings that are touched upon throughout this EP, that it felt like the perfect way to catalog not only these songs, but also that time in my life.”

She’s been releasing a steady stream of singles since the springtime, but Sloan Golden’s formal introduction to the world arrives this September in the form of six candid, cathartic, and vulnerable indie folk songs thoughtfully packaged into one soul-stirring debut EP. With its warm hues and gentle weight, Long Conversations is a record of reflection and reckoning, a blanket of connection and understanding, and a journey into the raw depths of one unfiltered, unabridged heart and soul.

Long Conversations - Sloan Golden — Long Conversations – Sloan Golden

There were flaws in the house that you built
But you could never see them
The ripped carpet was long gone to hell
And the floors were uneven
Wondering if I’m wasting my time
Fixing a house that was never mine
Built for demolition
I still can’t make that decision
‘Cause…

You’re the missing stair
I can’t bring myself to care
When I find myself falling every time
Think I want to believe
That you’re not as bad as you seem
But you prove me wrong every time

– “Missing Stair,” Sloan Golden

Independently releasing September 25^th, Long Conversations aches with heavy thoughts and bittersweet words unspoken. Sloan Golden’s debut EP evokes the New Jersey-born, Los Angeles-based singer/songwriter’s skills as a lyrical storyteller and dreamworld builder; citing “the modernism of Maggie Rogers’ production and the raw instrumentation of Daughter,” her music is a visceral bridge between the ‘indie folk’ and ‘indie pop’ worlds – charming, churning, and emotionally charged, with breathtaking imagery, moving melodies, and catchy choruses ensuring no one comes away unscathed.

The songs themselves chronicle “an emotional and physical journey” in loose chronological order, with no stone unturned nor scar ignored as the artist invites us into her world, to walk a mile in her shoes and feel all the things she’s felt – and long kept hidden.

“Long Conversations has been six years in the making, which is really wild to think about,” Sloan Golden tells Atwood Magazine. “Every idea or concept came in stages, and at the beginning I didn’t even know that I was working towards a bigger project. Each song is a piece of me, a story that at one point or another I might’ve been too afraid to say out loud. These songs carry the hushed conversations that uncovered the truth, that strengthened and broke relationships, and that altered the course of my life.”

“At some points throughout the process of creating it, I didn’t know if I’d ever get to the end. People say that an artist can work on their first album forever, and that is very true, but it might be even more true about an artist’s first song or first EP. The grief that I poured into it over the years, turned into beautiful recollections of some of the hardest moments I’ve faced, that I’m unbelievably proud of. With the sonic nature of it being so that every song bleeds into the other and the last bleeds into the first, it creates a long conversation within the EP itself that never really ends.”

“I hope that Long Conversations showcases me as an intentional artist,” she adds. “Every single component of this project, from the production to the cover art to the mix, was thoughtfully created in order to achieve an overarching concept. While I hope this project is seen as cohesive, I also hope that there’s a variety of sonic landscapes and topics that people are able to relate to, so that it isn’t just labeled as sad.”

Golden describes the EP as reflective, unflinching, and palpable.

While the songs themselves pull from a smorgasbord of memories, moments, and life experiences, they coalesce together as one seamless, coordinated collection – a record that captures relatable snapshots of the artist’s life over the past six or so years, through her college days and beyond.

“Many of these songs, such as ‘Dandelion,’ ‘Parking Lot,’ and ‘Corner of My Eye’ were written without the intention of them being on a bigger project and were also written six-ish years ago,” she explains. “It wasn’t until 2020 that I started thinking about which songs of mine I would want to compile for an EP, as I was putting together my senior capstone project. I chose and started to record those three and then wrote ‘Dressing Room’ to round it out at four. But because of the pandemic things obviously didn’t go to plan, so I did the best I could to put these four songs together to turn in for my project.”

“Then in November of 2020 I started over. Over the next three years I worked with four different producers, the original four tracks were completely reproduced, and I added on ‘Missing Stair’ and ‘Long Conversations.’ Because I didn’t have a clear vision at the very beginning of this, ideas kind of came in waves. The idea to have every song bleed into the next and for the last to loop to the first came in early 2021 at the beginning of the recording process. Then I realized that they kind of all dealt with grief in some form or another, and so making sure the track list order felt true to my grieving process also came into play, as well as the want for the story to be told in loose chronological order.”

Highlights abound on the journey from EP opener “Parking Lot” – the artist’s debut single, released in May of this year – to the EP titular finale “Long Conversation,” which is still unreleased as of this article’s publishing date. Standouts include the tender balladry of “Dandelion,” the dreamy, lush, and lilting soundscaping of “Corner of My Eye,” and the brutally honest and achingly vulnerable “Missing Stair,” which is premiering today on Atwood Magazine. That track, inspired by a chance encounter (one of her famous long conversations) in a taxi cab several years ago, finds Golden building upon the metaphor of the missing stair, in which a dangerous individual is shielded for convenience within a social or professional group: “In the world of the metaphor, a visitor is warned about a missing stair at a house, but if they trip and fall on the staircase anyway, the homeowners take no responsibility, blaming the victim,” she explains. “You can only fall down the same set of stairs so many times before you decide to never go in that house ever again.” The song’s chorus is a space of simultaneous inner reckoning and cathartic release:

You’re my missing stair
I can’t bring myself to care
When I find myself falling every time
Think I want to believe
That you’re not as bad as you seem
But you proved me wrong every time

“My favorite always seems to ebb and flow, but right now I love ‘Missing Stair,’” Golden smiles. “I love the metaphor, and also the light yet gritty track that builds and builds.”

“A couple things I’d love to highlight are the sounds that come towards the end of ‘Dandelion’ that sound like high pitched synths. They’re actually takes of me screaming that are really pitched up. Another highlight is the bridge in ‘Corner of My Eye.’ I had the idea while recording vocals to fill that instrumental section with all the phrases that a man has ever said to gaslight me. That section is also really special because it builds towards a recording of me yelling on the phone at the person that the song is about. For whatever reason my sophomore year roommate took a video of me having that conversation and sent it to our other roommates on Snapchat and I remember saving it thinking I might be able to use it in a song and I’m happy to say I did.”

She takes her favorites one step further, pulling a special lyric from every track that resonates for her:

“Parking Lot”: “I’m so alive / And I hate to admit it”

“Dandelion”: “Brush an eyelash off my cheek to make a wish / You planted it”

“Dressing Room”: “I wish I could look at knives / And just see them as utensils”

“Corner of My Eye”: The bridge has every statement a man has ever said to gaslight me layered on top of one another:

I’m sorry if I made you feel like that
I don’t remember, but I believe you
You know I was just joking right?
You’re too sensitive
You’re being dramatic
You take things too personally
It was never my intention to hurt you

“Missing Stair”: “You’re my missing stair / I can’t bring myself to care / When I find myself falling every time”

“Long Conversations”: “She connects the dots / What I willingly fought / Softness that I hid / Heard me more clearly than they ever did”

Ultimately, Sloan Golden’s debut EP is itself an especially intimate heart-to-heart between artist and audience.

“I hope that Long Conversations serves as a companion for those who might be hurting and in need of someone that understands what they’re going through,” Golden shares. “I hope that it also serves as an entry point for potentially hard, long conversations. With there being a range of topics that are covered across the EP, from sexual assault to suicidal ideation, I hope that if someone has unfortunately been through something similar, they may show a friend the song to communicate how they’re feeling, when their own words might be too much for them to say.”

“I have learned an incredible amount through the process of making Long Conversations and putting it out,” she adds. “While I want to continue to be intentional in my art, I hope to lessen my perfectionist tendencies that can sometimes prolong the process unnecessarily. I’ve also learned so much about making visuals to accompany the EP with there being three music videos and two visualizers to accompany the six songs. I’ve absolutely loved bringing these songs to life visually and having a mini movie to further the story of the song. Each time I put a song out it’s exhilarating, and I honestly just can’t wait to keep sharing and connecting with people.”

Stream “Missing Stair” via our exclusive stream, and peek inside Sloan Golden’s Long Conversations EP with Atwood Magazine as she takes us track-by-track through the music and lyrics of her debut EP!

Long Conversations is independently out September 25, 2024!

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:: stream/purchase “Missing Stair” here ::

:: connect with Sloan Golden here ::

Stream: ‘Long Conversations’ singles – Sloan Golden

:: Inside Long Conversations ::

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“Parking Lot”

“Parking Lot” serves as the entry point to the stages of grief that cascade through the rest of the EP, as the lyrics and sonic landscape are meant to emulate the feeling of a panic attack. It begins in the Panera Bread parking lot that my friends and I used to hang out at after we got off work. Having long conversations with them in the car during my senior year of high school was the thing that tethered me to reality when my mental health was on the decline. Being seventeen in suburban New Jersey means getting creative about finding a place to have a private conversation out of an adult’s earshot, which I think I managed to do pretty successfully.

“Dandelion”

“Dandelion” kind of holds all of the stages of grief throughout its three minutes and forty seconds, as it serves as both the recounting and processing of an assault. In 2018 I went on a trip to Ireland and stood at the edge of the cliffs of the Aran Islands trying to speak my acceptance into existence and let it go with the passing of the breeze. I wanted moving forward to be as easy as watching dandelion seeds blow away in the wind. I never achieved that, but I have come to a form of acceptance that I can live with.

“Dressing Room”

“Dressing Room” was written after I experienced a really intense episode of suicidal ideation in an Urban Outfitters changing room, which I think unfortunately really speaks to the Gen-Z experience. This is definitely the depressive climax of the EP, as I sing about floating throughout the clothing racks like a ghost, as a retail store was my first stop after a deliberate overdose. While that’s what inspired it, I also think that it may resonate for people who struggle with their body image and are triggered by trying on clothes at stores that cater towards a smaller body type. I do hope Urban Outfitters doesn’t hate me for this one and will still consider stocking my vinyls one day.

“Corner of My Eye”

If EPs had a Side B “Corner of My Eye” would be listed first. While this song deals with a great amount of anxiety it’s also the first one on the EP where there’s been a shift in attitude towards the perpetrator. We now know he’s a bad guy, but we still aren’t able to completely free ourselves from both him and our toxic thought patterns. Living in a small community where you might run into the person that hurt you at any given second is a recipe for an anxiety spiral.

“Missing Stair”

“Missing Stair” in many ways symbolizes the last chance. In 2017 I got into an Uber with a friend and our driver Constatine proceeded to tell us about the missing stair theory, and in 2021 I wrote this song inspired by that conversation. At this point in the EP, we’re on our way to acceptance and are trying to figure out if there’s any way in which this person could stay in our life. But they have been and always will be a blind spot for us, so the only healthy option is to cut them out of our lives entirely, as not to risk getting hurt again.

“Long Conversations”

“Long Conversations” is the thesis of the EP and the song in which we finally find acceptance. It calls back to both “Parking Lot” and “Dandelion,” as the titles of both songs are said for the first time throughout the project. This song serves as a point of reflection, in which I give myself grace in an attempt to move forward. It also touches upon my journey with my sexuality and coming out as queer, while also giving credit to the numerous women in my life, such as my mom, sister, previous therapist, and friends, that saw and accepted me in my entirety.

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