Since forming less two years ago in Portland, Oregon, Sharlet Crooks’ distinctive and spirited blues stylings, which would sound just as at home in the California desert as they would echoing in a Louisiana bayou, has set them squarely in the spotlight, achieving an onrush of popularity among audiences locally and abroad.
The band borrows its namesake from lead singer/songwriter Corinne Sharlet, who’s been a devoted songwriter since she was a kid and now, during life’s all-important moments, finds herself returning to music. Subscribing vigorously to the idea that writing music is a necessary form of self-expression for her, Sharlet’s lyrical panache doles out moments of insightful reflection delivered in piercing sidewinder vocal lines.
And if Sharlet Crooks’ modus operandi has been one that places all focus, first and foremost, on music, they’ve found their showpiece in their new single “Maybe Love”, which is out officially on February 1st and is premiering today on Glide. The song is a bluesy, torsional exercise in the language of playful western confidence, Sharlet’s reveries gleefully defy genre in moments of sharp confidence, sheathed in rusty guitar licks and uncompromising bass lines. Despite being in the Pacific Northwest, the band exudes a kind of country twang that they mix with a thick groove, bluesy guitar licks, and soulful vocals. The video, which feature Corinne Sharlet dancing in a mysterious landscape, adds to the mystique of the this being desert-tinged rock music. It’s clear that, between the singer and the band, Sharlet Crooks are a talented act to be reckoned with.
Corinne Sharlet describes “Maybe Love” in her own words:
“When we first heard back the mix for ‘Maybe Love’ we all felt like it really captures what our sound is. It was exciting because as a new band we are still developing our style and where we fit in to the music scene. We still aren’t quite sure what our specific genre is but fortunately because of the way people are listening to music these days we aren’t too worried about that. As long as we like what we are hearing, that’s what we have to go with.
For the video, I was inspired by a few main images I had in my head when I heard the song. I saw red, my friends kitchen and me dancing in her kitchen. I also saw the snake. Spoiler alert, its not a real snake! (My friend with the kitchen was like, ‘you didn’t tell me you were bringing a snake into my house’) I thought it was so obviously fake but I guess not! Anyway, I brought all of those seemingly random ideas to Jon Meyer, the co director and editor of the video and he helped me string those ideas together in a more cohesive way. Jon usually makes videos with a pretty firm story structure but I wanted something less concrete and more abstract which he was excited to play around with. I just really wanted an excuse to dance to the song so I created one.”
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Photo credit: Courtney Hellen
