Cassadee Pope – stages

Some artists have been in my life for a long, long time, but I did not think Cassadee Pope was one of them. Yet, I’ve known her for more than ten years and have followed her career since 2008, when she released a first album with her band Hey Monday. She was barely 19, and so was I.

Fast forward, Cassadee participated on The Voice, won, released her first solo album, Frame by Frame, and two EPs. For each step, I was there, listening from afar, loving and crying to the songs. Here we are now, more than ten years later, with her second album, stages.

I’d lie if I said I spent the three years since her Summer EP waiting for her to release new tracks, because to me, Cassadee Pope is one of those artists that are never truly on the front row of my favorite musicians. She’s there, somewhere in the shadows, coming up on shuffle from time to time, or popping up from an old nostalgic playlist for a gulp of air. Artists like that often come and go in my heart, but Cassadee’s music has made itself a tangible space in there, and she’s holding on strong. So when I heard Take You Home and One More Red Light, I knew she was back, even for a moment.

Then came If My Heart Had a Heart, and I knew I had found what I was looking for. In stages, Cassadee didn’t take many risks. Instead, she perfected her art, crafting the emo pop-country songs that I didn’t know I craved. These songs talk about universal feelings: the frenzy of newfound love, the heartbreaks and deception that sometimes go with it, and a great feeling of nostalgia that resonates later in the album. Everything’s in there, in perfect shape, so relatable sometimes that you wonder if that song has been written for you and you only or if it’s just your mind playing tricks.

In all of Cassadee’s works, I have always found the gems that pull at my heartstrings more than any other songs. I had Secondhand in her first EP. I had Easier to Lie in Frame By Frame. I had Kisses at Airports in the Summer EP.  And now, in stages, I have Still Got It. And Cassadee still got it, too.

January 2019 Playlist

New year, new blog, right?

Well, I’ve decided I’m going to try and deliver my personal playlist every month. These playlists will not necessarily contain the newest releases, but I’m hoping it’ll show a full scope of my taste in music.

This month, I’ve listened to a couple of throwback songs, including old American Hi-Fi, Weezer or Jimmy Eat World songs, as well as artists like The Starting Line, Counting Crows or the badass girls from Bikini Kill. I’ve also been influenced by stuff that I’m watching or other bands I listen to: I’ve discovered Sløtface by watching the Netflix show Sex Education, and have delved into The Regrettes when they were announced as the opening act for Twenty One Pilots’ Bandito Tour. I’ve also fallen into a country pit with the new Cassadee Pope track, as well as Brynn Cartelli and Dan + Shay.

Hope you’ll like this month’s playlist!