Interview: Rebecca McCartney
Singer-songwriter Rebecca McCartney is introducing herself to the music world with far too much soul, vocal power and creative range to be restrained to any kind of box. Laying the groundwork for her upcoming EP release, she put out debut solo single “Remember Less,” last week, a heart-melting, knee-buckling introduction to her emotive musicality. Tongue Tied was lucky enough to sit down with the phenomenal artist earlier this week, where she told us all about the inspiration behind the track as well as her unique approach to artistry as an independent act.
From a childhood infatuation with classical music and Broadway to finding her own voice in rock and jazz bands throughout high school and college, Rebecca McCartney’s creative spark never burns in one place for too long. The range of her influences is evident in her own work, a sonic kaleidoscope of indie rock, R&B, and something inherently her own — with that latter-mentioned authenticity functioning as the one true constant across her releases.
“Remember Less” comes as McCartney’s first solo single, following her duo Garden Party’s album release in the spring of 2020. Inspired by artists like Lianne La Havas’ achievement of captivating music through merging genres, she set out alongside high school friend and other half of the Garden Party duo, Jakob Leventhal, to apply this genre-bending lens to a period of heartbreak that she’d been wrestling with.
“I was processing this pretty emotional, semi-breakup that I was going through after having been in New York for a few months and then going back to college. I was leaving behind this relationship and was not staying in touch with the man, and so I get back to Minnesota and all of my thoughts are consumed with thinking about this person — but I have no idea what they’re thinking about. You get this idea in the song of like, ‘are you thinking about me at the same time? Am I gone from your mind?’”
Begging that very question, the song wraps McCartney’s aching uncertainty in smooth, jazz-infused piano and bass. Gentle percussive licks underscore her serenely soulful vocals, which swap their moody depth for higher, gentle agility when the chorus comes around. There’s an electric guitar introduced around the second verse, and it is simultaneously the saddest and sexiest thing you’ve ever heard, gnawing away at your heart before the lyrics and deeper vocals kick back in and swallow it whole.
Just as the song functions as a product of embracing all that the “liminal space” between genres and influences has to offer, McCartney hopes that listeners take from the track a message that not understanding how you feel every time you’re in the thick of it is perfectly alright, not unique, and ultimately survivable.
“I love the idea of people listening to “Remember Less” and banging their heads around a little bit or dancing in their living rooms, [and] I also love the idea of somebody lying down and closing their eyes and getting really sad about it, thinking back to something tough that’s happened in their past and remembering that feeling of not knowing how to think about it. I think I just want to be inviting to all the emotions that this might bring up for someone.”
McCartney’s forthcoming debut EP is appropriately titled “How You Feel,” featuring five tracks that each explore different strands of her alternating brushes with genre and emotion. The concept of the release ties into a through-the-motions listening experience that she hopes sees the audience embracing the EP’s title and going through their own emotional journeys at her side — and those of us here at Tongue Tied can hardly wait to have it on repeat.
“Remember Less” is out now — be sure to give it a spin here. For more on Rebecca McCartney, be sure to follow her on Instagram @rebecca.andmusic.
Interview by Tori Coker
