“I think the stories behind these songs are almost what’s most important,” says Sweetlove. She sighs. It’s a heavy sigh––the kind that makes the person listening suddenly feel their own chest tighten. Sweetlove knows what she’s just said isn’t what a singer-songwriter would typically say about her new EP. But Goodnight, Lover––the EP in question––was born out a tsunami of grief and pain that, while relatable, raw, and quintessentially human, isn’t typical.
Stripped down to rootsy grooves, lyrical heft, and Sweetlove’s warm vocals, Goodnight, Lover is an exciting six-song portrait of an artist coming into her own. It is also the work and reflection of a woman grappling with devastating personal loss the best way she knows how. “I love that we’ve wrapped all of these beautiful musicians around the songs, and all this talent came in and lifted them to a place I never could have taken them alone,” Sweetlove continues. “But it started with the stories.”
Sweetlove has found her own refuge in songwriting after years of helping others showcase theirs. She sang backup vocals for Grammy-nominated and Tony award-winning artists, paying dues on huge stages. The daughter of a preacher and a teacher, she grew up in California’s Simi Valley and experienced music as a natural part of life––not as a pursuit or a practice, but an extension of just being. Childhood Pentecostal religious services began with songs often sung by David’s bearded, raspy-voiced father. “I grew up with his voice,” Sweetlove says, before noting that many of his children––David’s siblings––became professional musicians.
Now, after living in West Hollywood for the last 15 years, Sweetlove has drawn from her time sharing stages with superstars and that resonant voice that readied worshippers for interpreting tongues to create something that is entirely, beautifully hers.
Produced by Justin Glasco (The Lone Bellow), Goodnight, Lover puts Sweetlove’s twin devotions to her earthy pop and the people she loves on magnificent display. Written with Jay Stolar (Selena Gomez, Trevor Daniel, Aloe Blacc, G-Eazy, Demi Lovato), the title track nods to the bluesy swagger of Shelby Lynne as Sweetlove sings to a new lover, from a distance. Then, just one month later, David died––and Sweetlove’s world and the songs she would write, all changed.
Listening to Goodnight, Lover, a truth emerges: Sweetlove isn’t merely working through her own hurt. She is singing these songs to the ones she still misses, addressing them with tenderness and love. She is interested in the potential of music therapy to assist others––from veterans with PTSD to those dealing with loss––and she hopes these songs can be a balm to anyone who hears them.
Today Glide is excited to premiere the album’s opening track “Devil on Your Shoulder,” (PRE-ORDER) which is arguably the only happy song on the EP as it urges self-acceptance with heartwarming confidence. With a sultry, slinking groove, the song is a showcase for Sweetlove’s vocals, which straddle the line between soul and Americana with a melodic pop sensibility. The songs message of freedom and empowerment resonates as especially hopeful during a time when nearly all of us are feeling trapped in some way. Ultimately this is a soaring anthem that feels like it could be a radio hit with a proper serving of depth and emotionally impactful music.
Sweetlove describes the inspiration behind the song:
“Devil On Your Shoulder” is about being brave, and free, and truly yourself. It’s the happiest song on the new record, but it’s also informed by great loss, and how that loss sweeps away all of the things that don’t matter anymore, which gives you a strange new freedom. When you lose someone you love, the best way you can honor their memory is to go out and live the life you always wanted … and “Devil On Your Shoulder” tells you to embrace that messy gift of life, while you are lucky enough to have it.
LISTEN:
