featured image provided by Grace’s Locket
Track Dissection aims to capture the essence of an artist’s song: the effort behind it, the context surrounding it, and the emotions etched within it. In each piece, the artist pulls back the curtain of their work, revealing its intimacies.
The Spark
Grace’s dream world, also known as the band Grace’s Locket, debuts new works “Blush” and its prelude, “You Appear.” Starting with a couple notes from her journal (as shown in pictures), the songs are an attempt to “capture the uncontrollable rush of being near someone I loved.”
Grace recycles instrumentals from a previous year, putting the last puzzle piece, in this case lyrics, into the puzzle and fitting it right in place. Seamlessly replacing simple traditional hums that she opts for for the lyrics written in her journal, Grace carries “the same vulnerability as the feeling itself.” Grace elaborates, “‘Blush’ has always felt like the centerpiece, the moment where the project truly found its voice.’ A drumline mimicking a skipping heartbeat is also placed into the song as a cute coded gesture.
Recording
In this recording, this was the first time Grace was stepping into primary vocals. She remembers blushing as she sang, a response to the lyrics she stepped into. Grace elaborates, “The whole process felt shy and delicate, like whispering a secret to someone who might overhear.”
The process of recording these pieces happened at bandmate Ian Harders’ bedroom studio. In order to capture the nostalgic sound on the tracks, Harders’ Juno-60 was used. It emulates warmth and echos on track, lingering “like a memory that refuses to fade.” The magical part about the session was recording alongside Ian, Grace recalls, with him bringing out layers in the track with his sensitivity, instinct, and musicianship.
Prelude: You Appear
Born after Blush, “You Appear” is a softer opening to its successor. Grace says, “I realized if the first release opened straight into the heart of the song, it would feel too sudden, almost harsh. There needed to be an entryway, something softer to lead the listener in.”
Hannah Cusick aids in the track as a flute performer, transforming the piece into “something living.” Grace states, “I returned to that original quote to find the name of the prelude, and I could not find anything better to describe what the song made me feel. It is an awakening with eyes wide open, the feeling of seeing and loving something for the first time.” The inhale becore the exhale, “You Appear” prepares the listener for what’s about to come.
Writing & Lyrics
Fragments from Grace’s diary, Grace states that “They are not polished statements, They are blushes caught in words.” Here is what Grace has to say about their lyrics:
“‘my cheek left burning
smiles that just won’t go away‘
This line came from a real moment: being so near someone and realizing I could not hide what I was feeling, no matter how hard I tried. That warmth in my face, that unstoppable smile, is etched into the song
‘a pink confession
shades of love our skin displays’
Another direct memory. I wanted to describe the physical evidence of affection, the body betraying the heart’s secret. Blush is full of these tiny truths. They are intimate because they are drawn directly from lived experience, little instants of love I could not contain.”
Reflection
Grace reflects on Blush, saying how precious it is as it is honest and uncontrollable. Here is what she wrote in reflection:
“Blush already feels like a Grace’s Locketheartbeat, the moment I let myself be completely open and unguarded. I wrote it as a confession of young love, but it only found its glow once I placed it in the hands of my bandmates. Hannah Cusick does more than hold down the bass. She animates the songs, and her flute on You Appear turns the prelude into something alive. Aaron Bluth carries the heartbeat on drums, grounding the rush of the song with a pulse that feels both human and vulnerable. And Ian Harders, my lead guitarist, threads through the track with a kind of quiet devotion. Together, we have made Blush into more than a song. It is a memory locked in sound, a keepsake of young love that can be replayed forever.”
Check out the song (+ its inspirations) here!
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