Conner Cherland Releases 'Call Waiting' & Announces His EP

Singer-songwriter Conner Cherland released his single, "Call Waiting" today and announces his EP of the same name via Santa Barbara Records due Oct 14. [Pre-Save + Pre-Add].

In discussing the single, Cherland said, "It's about my first love back when I was 15 - my dad said something ominous at the beginning of the relationship about how this might go differently than other relationships because of some personal baggage and, she ended up breaking my heart" He was right! I kind of lost my mind after we broke up (screaming/crying at night into my mattress), and I think it turned me into something a bit darker for a time."

"He taught me life was tougher than the call waiting line" - I don't think my dad actually said this, but it's the basic sentiment. Life is a lot harder than waiting to talk to a cute girl. It's harder than getting dumped by her, it gets harder than hopelessness over a career and a purpose. Life requires a lot of grit. Passion/love isn't what you think it is, it's boots on the ground grit over a looooong period of time," he concludes.

The SoCal local moves into ultra-authentic, organic indie rock territory alongside the likes of Hozier and Shakey Graves on Call Waiting. "This is the first record of mine that I've ever cried to," said Cherland. "Because I'm so proud of it, and it just moves me."

The EP's six songs explore love, loss, and emotional maturing with rare candor and clarity. Rich in universal sentiments refreshingly expressed, a recurring theme is the wistfulness of life's transitional chapters, as we shed old selves and grope for fresh identity. "When you're from a small town and seen as pretty valuable and unique, then you move out into the real world and realize that no one really cares, that's a really big disparity," said Cherland, who grew up in California's High Desert before relocating to Santa Barbara for college.

Produced by John Bottrell (Christina Perri, Keith Cullen) at L.A.'s Four Seasons Recording, Call Waiting is Cherland at his most polished and articulate, yet with his signature sincerity and sensitivity charmingly intact. The album's title track revisits a traumatic teenage breakup, while "Heavy" conveys his emotional numbness upon relocating to L.A. recently, and "You Are What You Take In" forms a farewell letter to a former self as he watches it devolve during the pandemic.

"It's catharic, but I hope people will feel excited, too," mulled Cherland. "The lyrical content can really hit the heart, but if they just want to enjoy, it's also right there on the surface."

Watch the new music video here:

Photo Credit: Josie Farrior