NATALIE SCHLABS PREMIERES ENCOURAGEMENT ANTHEM “SEE WHAT I SEE” VIA AUDIOFEMME
NEW LP DON’T LOOK TOO CLOSE SET FOR RELEASE ON OCTOBER 16TH
Schlabs’ voice possesses an audible kindness to it that allows her to carry her performance with the calmness and sincerity necessary to portray a song crafted on the kind of love that overreaches any one type of relationship. - American Songwriter
Photo: Fairlight Hubbard
Nashville-based singer/songwriter Natalie Schlabs has released “See What I See,” the second single from her forthcoming album Don’t Look Too Close, due out October 16th, just in time for Mental Health Awareness Month. “If your life feels like an endless struggle right now…Natalie Schlabs has a message of hope for you. Her latest single, ‘See What I See,’ reassures people in various difficult situations that there’s a light at the end of the tunnel, even if they can’t see it at the moment,” said Audiofemme of the song, written to lend encouragement to those who are struggling. “I think we can all offer our eyes to someone when they’re having a hard time, imagining they will be OK again,” Schlabs told Audiofemme.
LISTEN: “SEE WHAT I SEE”
“See What I See” follows lead single “Home Is You,” a song about that person who is your “person.” “Romantic, timeless love songs are great, but what about other kinds of love? Best friends, childhood neighbors, brothers and sisters, a mentor and mentee, family. This is just the kind of angle singer-songwriter Natalie Schlabs poses in many of her songs, including her latest, “Home Is You,” said American Songwriter in its premiere of the track. In this time of social distancing, Schlabs got creative with the song’s video. “Even with COVID-19 keeping many of us apart, artists everywhere are still finding ways to put forth creativity and hope,” said Underground Music Collective. “As for the video? It features at-home footage of Schlabs and her closest family and friends — including fellow musicians like Robby Hecht, the members of Oliver the Crow, Betsy Phillips, and gospel/soul powerhouse Liz Vice. With ‘Home Is You,’ we get a personal look at the quality time spent between loved ones — all of whom happen to be singing along to this undeniably catchy tune.”
LISTEN: “HOME IS YOU”
WATCH: “HOME IS YOU”
The nine tracks that comprise Don’t Look Too Close, the second full-length effort from the Texas-bred Nashville-based artist, live in the tension between the beauty and heartbreak surrounding our closest relationships. The songs were written when Schlabs was pregnant with her first child, which caused a lot of reflection on her own upbringing and how she wanted to raise him. The album’s title came from the idea that "he’s going to see all the worst of me, be hurt by the worst of me, as much as I don’t want him to, and, as much as I want to be the best for him. I was thinking about how to raise a child, how to pass down values. There’s a dismantling of what I thought I knew,” she explains. “What do I value in my life and where did those things come from? What do I want to share with my children and what do I want to spare them from?”
Don’t Look Too Close steps into indie territory with a compelling mix of instrumentation laced with solo vocals that bloom into easy, delicate harmonies. Co-produced by Juan Solorzano and Zachary Dyke, with Caleb Hickman on saxophone and Joshua Rogers on bass, the album swells and ebbs with elegant, absorbing shapes. The songs are moody, candid, and tender, each featuring Schlabs’ characteristically sleek vocals front-and-center, backed by charming instrumental moments that add form and depth to the melodies.
CONNECT WITH NATALIE SCHLABS:
Website || Facebook || Twitter || Instagram || Spotify || YouTube || Bandcamp