Sabrina Song brings her coming-of-age journey to life in her debut album ‘You Could Stay In One Spot, and I’d Love You The Same,’ a breathtakingly intimate and achingly raw indie folk record soaking in the fullness of the human experience.
for fans of Charli Adams, BEL, girlhouse
Stream: “Before and After” – Sabrina Song
A gentle piano line and a loaded lyric are all Sabrina Song needs to start her debut album.
“I have a yearning dream,” she confesses, her soft voice delicate but strong, like a cool breeze on a hot summer evening. “… where I ride the train forever, and at least there’s a reason that we can’t be together.” She sings of heartbreak and romantic frustrations, but most of all, she sings about her own struggles to accept that which doesn’t make sense to her; that which is out of her control. It’s a feeling to which many of us can relate: The humble recognition that we are not the sole pilots of our flights; that we are as much at the mercy of the world, as we are actors in it.
For Song, the past few years have been equal parts exhilarating and tragic – a duality to which many can surely relate. Navigating the lows, mids, and highs all together has had its own learning curve, as has her own ongoing soul-search – all of which she’s poured into her beautifully diaristic, emotionally charged debut album. A breathtakingly intimate indie folk record soaking in the fullness of the human experience, You Could Stay In One Spot, and I’d Love You The Same aches from the inside out as Sabrina Song brings her coming-of-age journey to life in a stirring soundtrack filled to the brim with moments of personal growth, inner reckoning, raw reflection, and self-discovery.
In essence, Song’s music documents her own long and winding road to adulthood – an adventure full of excitement, love, grief, pain, fear, but – perhaps most importantly of all – hope.
I have a yearning dream where I ride the train forever
And at least there’s a reason that we can’t be together
Perpetual traffic, a plane that never lands
I’m stuck right where I am, I’m stuck right where I am
Explain it all away with the wave of a hand
Oh it was just a matter of poor circumstance
Find a new beginning in the rubble of the end
I’m stuck right where I am
Force it to make sense, givе myself an answer
All the dеlayed plans, frozen in amber
Force it to make sense, given up anger
No more reason, just before and after
Just before and after
Independently released June 7 2024, Sabrina Song’s debut album is the cathartic expression of a soul on fire; of a heart finding its way in the darkness, looking for answers and understanding, but ultimately resolving to chart its own course through the world (with the help of a few trusted loved ones, of course). The Brooklyn-based singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer comes to lean on herself over the course of ten candid, confessional, and unfiltered songs whose intimacy and emotional depth know no bounds.
Treating her music like one would a diary, Song holds nothing back in building vivid descriptions of life’s color-wheel of feelings: From love to longing, anger to empathy, restlessness to contentment, heartache to acceptance, her music is as much a collage of anecdotal moments and memories (little life vignettes) as it is one of the emotions she either currently feels, or felt once upon a time. Experiencing this record is therefore not just a deep-dive into Song’s life, but into her mind’s eye – enabling us to feel what she’s felt, see what she’s seen, be where she’s been. The intimate becomes universal as, through whispers and shouts, Song spills her guts.
Or rather – if we’re being true to the album’s artwork – she shows her hand.
And it’s a good one.
As Song candidly shares, this record is a long time coming – arriving a year and a half after her December 2022 EP, When It All Comes Crashing Down. “Her indie-pop melodies provide the space for her to peacefully surrender to her emotions; and thus, the singer-songwriter embraces and wears her heart on her sleeve in every track she releases,” Atwood Magazine‘s Sophie Severs wrote in a feature published that year. Ever since she first introduced her music in 2018, Song has striven to craft music that is refreshingly candid, up-close and personal in every sense, “unpacking growing pains with plainspoken vulnerability.” Her debut album sees her doubling down on that ethos; the now-24-year-old began writing it after her graduation from NYU’s Clive Institute of Recorded Music in 2021, as she found herself standing on the precipice of young adulthood, with nowhere to go but forward.
“At the end of 2022, I started feeling like it might be time to work towards creating an album rather than an EP or single,” Song recalls. “I had about 6-7 demos going into 2023 when I found out that I had received a grant from the NYFA and MOME to actually fully realize the project. That really lit a fire under me, and I just felt so much gratitude throughout the whole process – I was able to really take my time and create the world of the album with my co-producer Ronnie (who goes by Torna).
“I really just wanted to do the songs justice and didn’t go in with specific concepts and themes in mind,” she continues, “but it was kind of beautiful to see the throughlines emerge and create this collage of moments and emotions from this period of my life. I think I was really just settling into adulthood and growing into myself and processing that through these songs.”
“I used to be so self-deprecating on every level – about my music, about myself – I would downplay anything I was working on and almost be apologetic for talking about it,” she adds. “I’m so happy to feel so proud of this project and feel like the songs were realized to their full potential. Working on a longer form project really encouraged me to try new sounds, open old songs back up, and really take my time.”
Song describes You Could Stay In One Spot, and I’d Love You The Same as introspective, loving, and optimistic.
The title comes from a lyric in the sixth track, “Busy Work.”
“The greater themes of the project, and feelings I was having while writing it, stem from a desire to have more gratitude, accept difficult things, and be kinder to myself,” she explains. “That lyric and phrase really spoke for the album.”
Highlights abound on the breathtaking journey from the album’s opener “Before and After” to its poetic, cathartic closer, “Happy to Be Here.” Lead single “Okay, Okay” sees Song trading vulnerability for security in a beautifully tender, boldly unapologetic declaration of love, commitment, and connection: “You’re gonna drown me like it’s a predetermined fate,” she roars, deep in the throes of a dynamic, dramatic performance. “Folding a good hand when you could’ve won the game.” The songwriting is vivid, vulnerable, and visceral throughout; an exemplar of Song’s formidable lyrical and musical talents.
Song’s debut is filled with such memorable, moving moments – be it the heartrending beauty housed within her achingly expressive ballad “Rage,” or the cinematic, (quite literally) amplified fervor of indie rock crossover “It Was Not a Beautiful Night,” an impassioned upheaval whose eruptive qualities call to mind the likes of Phoebe Bridgers and Julian Baker.
Song is strong in her belief that this album is meant to be listened to in full, rather than piecemeal; still, she says her current favorite moment is the record’s dreamy second track “Afternoons,” where glistening acoustic guitars ebb and flow alongside her warm vocals, and an outpouring of anxiety and stress turns into a cozy, sun-kissed reverie. “I’m really proud of how the song evolved into what it is now,” she smiles. “It taught me to follow through on my ideas and not be afraid to start over.” As for her lyrics, Song cites a special line in the track “Busy Work”: “The years pass like strangers that make me double take.”
Whether you’re mesmerized by the golden glow of “Before and After” or taken by the sheer vulnerability and raw emotional energy of songs like “Yes Man,” “Do You Think About It Too?” and “Yellowstone,” You Could Stay In One Spot, and I’d Love You The Same is at once irresistible and undeniable: A thing of beauty, passion, dreams, truth, courage, and surrender.
Sabrina Song has never sounded more confident or more vulnerable than she does here, and it’s all because she trusted herself to find her way in the dark.
“I’m just so happy that it’s happening – I’m so grateful to get to make music and work through each song and express myself in this way,” Song shares. “I hope people resonate with the more complicated feelings throughout the album – This period of my life has been confusing and contradictory and stressful but also so incredibly joyful – I hope it leaves people with a bit of hopefulness and levity.”
Experience the full record via our below stream, and peek inside Sabrina Song’s You Could Stay In One Spot, and I’d Love You The Same with Atwood Magazine as she goes track-by-track through the music and lyrics of her debut album!
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:: stream/purchase You Could Stay In One Spot, and I’d Love You The Same here ::
:: connect with Sabrina Song here ::
Stream: ‘You Could Stay In One Spot, and I’d Love You The Same’ – Sabrina Song
:: Inside You Could Stay In One Spot, and I’d Love You The Same ::
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Before And After
I was on a streak of reading dystopian novels when I started writing this one. I wanted to capture the feeling of trying to justify bad things that happen in order to move on, when sometimes there is no comforting angle. I wanted the song to feel like a deep breath, like an acceptance of things. There are a few songs on the project that deal with processing difficult things, unpacking nostalgia, and other similar themes – It only felt right for “Before and After” to open the album.
Afternoons
This is one of the oldest songs on the album, and it still feels like a snapshot of how my mind operates when I’m particularly stressed or anxious. I’m just someone who is always moving at a fast pace – I have a difficult time slowing down, and I used to be a severe people pleaser to the point where I don’t feel like I was really letting myself have opinions or advocate for myself. The original demo I made only had sparse, long piano chords, but I wanted to create more of a cyclical, rolling backdrop that felt more like frantic daydreaming than a dirge.
Okay, Okay
“Okay, Okay” was difficult to nail down at first because I wrote so many more sections than I needed for the song. It was one of those things where I really needed to distill the feeling down to the most important descriptions in the lyrics, for pacing and for clarity. It’s really meant to capture the earliest stages of falling in love and putting your faith in someone else – It’s the most exciting and beautiful thing, once you get past any lingering fears and insecurities that come with letting someone see every part of you. It’s a love song.
Yes Man
I think I wrote this whole song while walking downtown one day, word-vomit singing into my phone. I ended up sending the voice memo to my songwriter friend Emma Botti and asked her what chord progression she thought would work best. She did a first draft, and we ended up fine tuning the music and lyrics together to finish it up. As a former “yes man” and severe people pleaser (still working on it), I just wanted to write about how much stress I would cause myself trying to anticipate what people wanted. I’m still learning to say no to things, figuring out who I am and what I want, unlearning my old thought patterns. All of that stuff!
Rage
I got home from a particularly terrible dinner, and it was one of those times where I really did need to write a song in one breath to get the anger out of my system. I just felt completely undermined and insulted, and so sick of feeling that way when interacting with certain men. Especially the need to constantly explain myself – It’s a deep, deep frustration.
Busy Work
“Busy Work” was a song that was written in one sitting as well, and I wanted it to feel almost like flipping through a scrapbook. Sometimes I feel like time is passing at the speed of a movie montage, and I’ll never be able to be the best friend I can be, succeed at everything I want to do, etc, etc. There is this insane pressure to always be optimizing and bettering ourselves, and I wanted to write this as an ode to my friends (and myself) to say that you have so much value beyond work and achievement and social markers of success.
Do You Think About It Too?
This song was written before the album was even an idea, and I didn’t think I would ever put it out – I really just needed to write it. Working on this across years of time really helped me get through the dark place I was in when I started the song. I wanted the chord progression to capture the discomfort of the story, and have the band enter slowly the way the impact and depth of a memory can really creep up on you overtime. I’m happy to be out of that place, and I’m happy I finished the song.
Yellowstone
There’s a humor to this song – It’s a love song basically describing the devastation of a break up, I’ve never been to Yellowstone, etc, etc. I just wanted to capture how beautiful it is to get to have something that you’re so afraid to lose. My friend Garrett came up with the gorgeous tuning and finger-picking pattern for the chords I wrote on piano, and Ronnie and I added the most delicate flourishes and textures we could, but largely left it alone. It’s definitely a current favorite of mine.
It Was Not A Beautiful Night
This was the first song that I knew would be on a potential album. I knew exactly what I wanted it to sound like when I started singing the melody to myself while lugging a bunch of heavy bags up the stairs of my apartment. This was around the time that I had really found the beauty in letting myself breathe a bit, and stopped letting little things bug me that used to ruin the day for me. In a lot of ways, this song captured the beginnings of a lot of things – the making of the album, growing up and handling things with more maturity and patience, practicing more gratitude and less frustration. I’m especially thankful to Alex Mercuri for contributing electric guitar on this, and Jacob Stockman for drumming on this song and many of the other album tracks.
Happy To Be Here
A true love song that I love to sing <3 I have a lot of preconceived notions about love and relationships for a bunch of reasons, and I’m just continually surprised by the amount of love and unselfish support there is to experience when you’re with the right person. I wanted it to sound exactly the way I did when I played it for the first time, and it’s the note I wanted to end the journey of the album on – gratitude, acceptance of good things, (working towards) living in the present, and experiencing great love.
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:: stream/purchase You Could Stay In One Spot, and I’d Love You The Same here ::
:: connect with Sabrina Song here ::
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