Indie singer-songwriter Merritt Gibson is set to release her debut album, Eyes On Us, on March 30, 2018. Recorded in July 2016 with Grammy Award-winning producer/ engineer Mitch Dane at his Sputnik Sound studio in Nashville, the forthcoming album is full of songs that truly mean something, be it advice to other young women, reflections on youth and love, defiance of the status quo, or a deeper understanding of the self. From a wide range of inspiration and sources, Gibson creates a holistic view of what it means to be a young woman today. She states: "My songs are the synthesis of my life and the lives I observe and imagine." Gibson crafts songs with a seamless musical and lyrical balance of both mystery and familiarity, of grand emotion and real life.
"Merritt Gibson is a blooming talent," says Dane. "Her songs are very honest and written from a deeply personal point of view. That authenticity is contagious, and I look forward to seeing her career move in great places."
Fans can buy the first single from the album, "My Best Friends," on February 16th, with both that song and the title track, "Eyes On Us," available as instant-gratification tracks with the album pre-order on March 2nd. Details for the album pre-order will be on Gibson's website and social media soon.
Gibson, who was born in New York and grew up in Boston, began writing songs in high school. As her song repertoire grew, she became serious about pursuing a career as a singer-songwriter. Gibson recorded seven demos at Soundscape Boston with Grammy Award-winning producer and Berklee College of Music professor Michael Moss in the fall of her junior year. He praised Gibson's songwriting prowess at such a young age, saying, "I have never experienced an artist like Merritt Gibson before. Such a sure grasp of the storyteller's eye - a window into the soul and intellect of this outstanding young woman. Done with such authentic soul and ease, and a melodic sense that makes you want to listen over and over again. Truly exceptional." She proceeded to send the EP to several Nashville managers, breaking into the Nashville music industry as a
New England teenager. Less than a year after sending her demos, she recorded Eyes On Us over summer break. Entirely funding the recording and promotion of the album by herself via money saved from summer jobs, Gibson is entrepreneurial and driven as well as talented.
With a "wise beyond her years" outlook on life and an unmistakable self-confidence, Gibson is currently a freshman in college at the University of Virginia. On Eyes On Us, Gibson explores many themes with a confident vocal performance and genre-blending production. The upbeat "When You Were Mine" introduces the set of self-penned material with a story of a hasty, soon regretted, breakup. Following that is the titular song "Eyes On Us," a vivid representation of the excitement, frustration, and uncertainty of an entrancing new relationship.
The collection encourages the listener to ponder questions that confront us all, from the spiritual, to the emotional, to the mundane. Most emblematic of this theme is "Truth and Myth," an ode to the deep connections and understandings shared amongst close friends. Songs like "Area Code" and "Ghost Town" evoke visions of Gibson commanding a set of piano keys, sharing complex stories of urgency, insistence, and despair.
Besides being a musical thinker and explorer, Gibson is also very much a fun-loving teenager, and that part of her personality also features prominently in her songs. She has a fun, upbeat, "girl-next-door" side to her songwriting that can be found in guitar-driven songs such as "Lovesick," "My Best Friends," and "I Heard." Ending with the hauntingly beautiful, simple "Faraway," the listener is left with a full view of Gibson's take on life as a teenaged girl in the 21st century.
Gibson plans to tour in support of Eyes On Us, and tour dates will be announced soon.
www.merrittgibson.com
Photo Credit: Anna Haas,
Red Hare Photography
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