Boston-based singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Kaiti Jones writes songs to make sense of the world, as potent storytellers do. Her songs are a garden that she tends to, rooted in existential angst or failed romances that grow into retrospective anecdotes, sometimes evolving over months or even years. “I often write or finish songs years later, when I’m able to look back with a new perspective and less pain,” she explains. Jones’s sophomore album Tossed, following 2017’s folk-leaning Vows, furthers this practice of introspection and lucid insight. It’s allowed her to confront daunting questions, and as a result, shines a guiding light for anyone who listens.
Jones graces us with her sonically satisfying new indie-folk single “Weak Days” (below). Boosted by warm electric instrumentation and effortless vocal delivery, Jones has a way with undemanding lyrical and melodic playfulness with a sharp tone reminiscent of Aimee Mann and Heartless Bastards. Jones manages to keep the harmony and instrumentation first, while letting superficial BS stand to the side.
Jones explains how “Weak Days” came to be pre-COVID
“Weak Day”‘ is about grappling with the complex, beautiful, and often painful experience of being a human on this planet. Years ago, this line popped into my head: ‘It’s hard to be human with this heart I’ve been given / all this beauty I’ve tasted, all these moments I’ve wasted.’ The song explores a series of contradictory states of being that in my experience any of us can feel in any given moment, day, week. That feeling I have of being perpetually grateful for the immense privilege of being who I am, walking around in this body, telling my stories, while simultaneously acknowledging the grief, uncertainty, and regret that comes with being who I am, walking around in this body, telling my stories. And while I wrote “Weak Days” well before COVID times, it’s taken on a whole new level of meaning this year. Never before has the duality of joy and grief in the human experience been so daily present.”
