Lots of artists want to stand under the soul music banner, wrap themselves in the soul music flag and bask in sheen of the music’s rich history. Far fewer are able to create work that justifies that hoped for association. Cecily’s upcoming EP titled Awakening Pt. 1 reveals her as an artist who has the goods, and the first track from that project, “Clumsy,” can be viewed as the angelic voiced soprano showing the world the receipts.
The track sports a mid-tempo steppers pace and the kind of instrumentation that harkens back to days when cats pulled the vinyl out of the sleeve, put in on the turntable and then perused the lyrics, read the liner notes to learn the artistic vision, and examined the credits to learn the name of the person responsible for that fat bass line and keyboardist who sprinkled in those notes like an early evening shower at the end of a sweltering day.
Lots of artists want to stand under the soul music banner, wrap themselves in the soul music flag and bask in sheen of the music’s rich history. Far fewer are able to create work that justifies that hoped for association. Cecily’s upcoming EP titled Awakening Pt. 1 reveals her as an artist who has the goods, and the first track from that project, “Clumsy,” can be viewed as the angelic voiced soprano showing the world the receipts.
The track sports a mid-tempo steppers pace and the kind of instrumentation that harkens back to days when cats pulled the vinyl out of the sleeve, put in on the turntable and then perused the lyrics, read the liner notes to learn the artistic vision, and examined the credits to learn the name of the person responsible for that fat bass line and keyboardist who sprinkled in those notes like an early evening shower at the end of a sweltering day.
“Clumsy” is an eloquent and soulful reminder that a person must first love him or herself before they can properly love anyone else. Simple to say, but so, so difficult to do - in part because loving yourself requires getting in touch with the real you, and that process will likely require you to be by yourself. That’s real talk. Cecily says as much in her artist’s statement.
"To love without knowing how to love wounds the person we love. The song,” Cecily says, “is about being vulnerable enough to say, ‘I don't love myself the way I should, and I don't want to hurt you while I figure out how to do that.’ It’s about rejecting the fear of being alone.”
This project drops on July 26. I don’t know if it qualifies as being eagerly anticipated, but I got a sneak preview, and I’m eagerly anticipating Part 2. Check out “Clumsy” here.
By Howard Dukes
Cecily - "Clumsy"