Songs about falling out of and in love aren’t anything new. The music industry has been fueled by both topics for decades. What’s always mattered – and will always matter – is how the artist talk about matters of the heart. It’s nigh onto impossible to write or sing about those concepts if they don’t understand them intimately and into the depths of their soul.
Listeners will instantly be able to tell if someone knows what they’re talking about when they start singing. Whether it’s pain or joy, they want to relate to the material viscerally and to connect to it on a personal level. People want to know that they can trust the music and the singer with their emotions.
Lemme tell you – you can trust Kelly Hoppenjans.
On her brand-new EP, entitled Can’t Get the Dark Out, she delivers her pain to the audience on with an honest and approachable clarity. The five-song self-released album tells the tale of a woman who first experiences heartache and loss but then slowly finds true love. Raw yet mature in content and production, these tunes do not avoid the rough spots.
The project has this warm country-fied alternative rock feel the vein of Neko Case, Margo Price, and Ashley Monroe. Hoppenjans possesses an amazing alto that instantly captures your attention with its power and verve. She’s also a superb songwriter and arranger who balances lovely hooks with authentic lyrics that feel ripped from real life. Musically, she starts with a taut guitar-bass-drums setup, but she leaves plenty of room in the mix for her vocals to move and sway. Nothing feels crowded or overwrought, which I imagine provides ample space for grooves, licks, and flair when performing these tunes live.
The album kicks off with “Love of My Life” as it fuses indie Nashville with ‘90s riot grrrl energy. The guitars deliver high-quality snarl, while the drums possess a keen urgency that keeps the song moving forward. And l feel it deep in my soul when she sings,
“Seems I’m well on my way to becoming Boo Radley.
But I think he had the right idea. It just turned out badly.”
With “Stain,” Kelly Hoppenjans pens a powerful paean about cleaning up the literal, emotional, and psychological detritus left by a past lover. It’s a powerful gut punch anchored by echoing baritone guitar power chords and a twangy lead lick. But true heart of the tune lies in the section of verse with the titular lyric:
“I can’t wear the skirt I wore the night you ripped my heart out.
It’s hanging in my closet
Driving me insane.
I’ve tried lemon juice and baking soda, just can’t get the dark out.”
It’s a near-perfect encapsulation of a painful breakup. It’s the kind that most of us have experienced, the kind most of us wouldn’t wish on our worst enemy.
Closing out the EP, “You Got To” ties up all the lyrical and musical elements into an aching, authentic whole. Her belted vocals meld perfectly with crashing electric guitars, shimmering cymbals, and pleading trumpet. But once again, I’m drawn to her profound capacity to perfectly capture this exact moment:
“I wanna be the bigger person,
But I just can’t be the first of us
To say it, I can’t say it.
You got to.”
Those sentiments hearken to that time in any budding relationship when you have your first big fight. But instead of feeling doubts about the situation, you realize that this one might actually be worth it, and that it will require a new level of compromise and communication that you’ve never known before.
The beauty of Can’t Get the Dark Out lies in how it refuses to pull its punches.
Kelly Hoppenjans doesn’t hide her feelings or emotions behind layers of tired metaphors or veiled references. She tells you exactly what she’s feeling and why she’s feeling it. Her songs offer clear reasons for her heartbreak while also showcasing a woman who knows she’s better off now even as she mourns the past. By both acknowledging her hurt and taking the necessary steps to move on, she creates the necessary groundwork for her personal growth and her next relationship.
If you’re in the mood for an album that’s intimate yet relatable and forlorn yet cathartic, you really should give this one several spins.
Photos courtesy of Autumn Dozier.