Natalie Schlabs has unveiled timely new single “Go Outside,” a track from her forthcoming album Don’t Look Too Close, due out October 16th. “‘Go Outside’ is the perfect indie soundtrack to a summer afternoon,” said Ones To Watch in its premiere. “The airy acoustic guitars and dreamy vocals give the song a magic quality, as if it were a spell to coax you (safely!) out of wherever you’ve been quarantining. The delicate harmonies and swaying effects feel like a fresh breeze blowing through a field of flowers. More than anything, this song showcases the simple beauty of everyday life.”Schlabs wrote the song as “a reminder to put down my phone and pursue activities that fill me with a tangible sense of the world and my ‘flesh and bone’ neighbor outside my door,” she explains. “To be outside is to be surrounded by a world I can’t control and beauty I did not have to create myself. I can let go of some of my control and simply be.”
“Go Outside” follows encouragement anthem “See What I See,” and “Home Is You,” a song about that person who is your “person.” Schlabs enlisted fellow artists and friends like Robby Hecht, the members of Oliver the Crow, Betsy Phillips, and gospel/soul powerhouse Liz Vice for the endearing “Home Is You” video. “Even with COVID-19 keeping many of us apart, artists everywhere are still finding ways to put forth creativity and hope,” said Underground Music Collective of the video. “‘With ‘Home Is You,’ we get a personal look at the quality time spent between loved ones — all of whom happen to be singing along to this undeniably catchy tune.”
The nine tracks that comprise Don’t Look Too Close, the second full-length effort from the Texas-bred Nashville-based artist, live in the tension between the beauty and heartbreak surrounding our closest relationships. The songs were written when Schlabs was pregnant with her first child, which caused a lot of reflection on her own upbringing and how she wanted to raise him. The album’s title came from the idea that “he’s going to see all the worst of me, be hurt by the worst of me, as much as I don’t want him to, and, as much as I want to be the best for him. I was thinking about how to raise a child, how to pass down values. There’s a dismantling of what I thought I knew,” she explains. “What do I value in my life and where did those things come from? What do I want to share with my children and what do I want to spare them from?”
Don’t Look Too Close steps into indie territory with a compelling mix of instrumentation laced with solo vocals that bloom into easy, delicate harmonies. Co-produced by Juan Solorzano and Zachary Dyke, with Caleb Hickman on saxophone and Joshua Rogers on bass, the album swells and ebbs with elegant, absorbing shapes. The songs are moody, candid, and tender, each featuring Schlabs’ characteristically sleek vocals front-and-center, backed by charming instrumental moments that add form and depth to the melodies.
