The indie singer songwriter market is ridiculously oversaturated. The all too earnest troubadours are a dime a dozen these days, so it takes something special to actually stand out.
We’re Still Here Missing You by Kaylee Cole stands out.
Cole, armed with nothing more than her finger strokes on keys and a soulful voice, guides the listener through nine tracks that are beautifully dark. The melodies and lyrics don’t force the issue, instead choosing to brood gently in the corner. To call the album simple seems unfair, instead it’s an example of brilliance through brevity.
Cole’s sound is anchored by her brooding piano lines that seem are amazingly atmospheric. The feelings they evoke are ones of impending dread and bleakness. The lyrics also contribute to the overall mood, but being so carefully chosen. There seems to be a conservation of words, only telling the story with the ones that make the most direct emotional impact. The pain and darkness isn’t conveyed by laying down every minute detail, but by choosing the big strokes to paint the broader picture of just how everything stings so much.
From the eerie refrains of “hallelujahs on the radio” in the opener, “Car Crash,” the tone is set. As the tracks continue the listener is immersed in melancholy. The haunting “Baby’s Blood” might be the best song of the 2008. It’s bridge is stunning and the lyrics act as an impassioned emotional gut-punch. Throughout the album (especially on “Fortress”) Cole’s voice possess a bulk and forcefulness that allows the relatively sparse arrangements to feel completely full.
Even when the album veers into more cheery material there is still seem to be black clouds rolling in on the horizon. The bouncy feel of “The Hills” and the instrumental peppiness of “Holes” mask the pain of both tracks. It’s always more interesting when artists are able to write songs that convey different moods than a distant listen would suggest (the “Tears for Fears ‘Mad World’ Syndrome”).
This album is so full of life that it’s personifiable. We’re Still Here Missing You is the gorgeous young girl you might catch a glimpse of at a bus stop or coffee shop. She’s clearly got an indie girl fashion sense and her hair, dyed jet black, flows part of the way down her jacket. But when she breaks from reading her book to glance up, you see her eyes. They have a certain shade of pigment that you swear you’ve never seen before and seem troubled, worn, and deep. There is a story behind them that you crave to hear it, but you know this will only be a fleeting moment, and when one of you leave that will be the last you ever see of her.
We’re Still Here Missing You is just so easy to like. It’s legitimately engrossing. In a time when the indie singer songwriter genre is cluttered with parallelism, Kaylee Cole stands as a wonderful contrast.
Review Score: 8.4
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