Esmé Patterson has shared her newest single “All Mine” a rumination on Patterson’s struggles with corrosive loneliness. While Esmé’s new album is deeply personal and moving “All Mine” is especially visceral, with the stark piano lines and her voice intermingling with a poignant sadness – but as with all of Patterson’s songs “All Mine” imbued with a sense of purpose, a light in the darkness and a message of hope.
Recounting her time living in a motel by the highway Patterson recalls; “I was dealing with constant suicidal thoughts for several months, and through writing, writing this song specifically, I found an anchor, I knew at the center of my being…that I was enough, that I was ok, that I could take suicide off the table permanently, and never go back, that I was fine being all mine and loneliness too shall pass, it comes and goes, and there is beauty to be found in all of it.”
Patterson previously announced her first album for BMG, There Will Come Soft Rains, which is coming March 6th, and the Denver-based artist shared the ecstatic gay love song “Shelby, Tell Me Everything” at Stereogum, which follows on the heels of the laid back synth-laden track “Light In Your Window”, which she shared last year. The music video for “Shelby”, transitioning from a neon yearning in an arcade to a serene botanical garden date, captures the energetic dream-pop song perfectly.
Patterson’s new album, There Will Come Soft Rains, was inspired by the penultimate tale from Ray Bradbury 1950’s short story collection The Martian Chronicles. There Will Come Soft Rains revolves around the constant cycle of creation and destruction. A process that Patterson felt reflected the sonic direction she started moving in on 2016’s We Were Wild, and which she delves deeper into on her newest effort. “It’s about how life continues on this planet after humans inevitably wipe ourselves out,” the Denver-based artist says. “The songs echo the surrender of starting over and failing and starting over again many times. I was hoping to convey the bittersweet peace of letting go alongside the courage to start again, being swallowed by fear and pain and coming out the other side stronger.”
Patterson’s music is constantly evolving but that has never been as obvious and crucial as it is on There Will Come Soft Rains. Jangly guitars and glowing synths build on the direction of We Were Wild and mark a stark transition from the folkier sound of her previous works. Raw vocals lay bare against fellow Denver duo Tennis’ shiny production and surfy dream pop. For the album Patterson and Tennis holed up in the band’s garage for 12 days in 2018 in the scorching hot Denver summer to record the album, but she has been conceptualizing it since 2015. “I feel like I’ve been continually rising from the ashes,” she says. “Being born and dying again.”
Patterson will be on tour this spring including showcases at SXSW, Treefort Music Fest and more. Find those dates below.
03/14 – Rufina Taproom – Santa Fe, NM
03/17-20 – SXSW – Austin, TX
03/21 – Love Buzz – El Paso, TX
03/22 – EXO – Tucson, AZ
03/24 – Gold Diggers – Los Angeles, CA
03/26 – The Ivy Room – Albany, CA
03/27 – The Velvet Pill – Reno, NV
03/28 – Treefort Music Festival – Boise, ID
03/29 – Treefort Music Festival – Boise, ID
03/31 – Fremont Abbey – Seattle, WA
04/1 – Polaris Hall – Portland, OR
04/3 – RYE – Salt Lake City, UT