Sarah Elizabeth Haines Sets 'Castaway' Release Date

Singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist, Sarah Elizabeth Haines, will release her sophomore LP, Castaway, on February 25, 2022.

The eleven original songs were co-produced with Kevin Salem (Rachel Yamagata) and the songwriter has steadily released singles and videos in advance of the LP. Castaway showcases Haines' impressive instrumental skills on viola, violin, guitar, arrangements, and production, as well as her sharp songwriting and strong singing - both on the melodies and harmonies. Currently, Sarah is on tour with the national company of the Tony winning musical, Hamilton, playing viola and violin.

Of the songs that comprise Castaway, Sarah says, "I am focused on how we as people, and I think as female artists especially, are often expected to present ourselves in a neat little easily digestible box so that people always know exactly what to expect from us, but that's so far from anyone's actual experience in the world. These songs are about being both forgiving and gentle with our own messiness and contradictions and finding power in the autonomy we can give ourselves, because at the end of the day the only things that have power over us are the ones we believe in."

The LP kicks off with, "Body" a spoken word piece about sex as a commodity buoyed by the drone of Sarah's viola, and quickly moves into "Young and Pretty" which begins with an anxious viola melody before the vocal, drums, bass and ethereal synths kick in. "You're lucky you're young and pretty..." she sings somewhat tongue in cheek.

Picking up the pace with fuzzed out guitars and pointed vocals is the album's first single, "Liar" which premiered via American Blues Scene who cheered, "this nice slice of indie funk is the true story of a cheating ex." "In The Morning" was hailed by Glide Magazine who raved, "With gritty guitar contrasting with her dreamy vocals, the song is an infectious indie rocker that finds Haines dwelling on long distance relationships. Backed by choir-like harmonies and a slow-building sense of drama, the song feels like it would easily be a radio hit during the 90s grunge and alternative era. Haines puts a unique touch on the song by layering in her own orchestration, adding a refined lushness to the music."

"In the Morning' is a dreamy indie rock song about a long-distance relationship," says the singer. "It inhabits the space between waking and sleep where we allow ourselves to drift into what ifs and if onlys, while reality marches on. As someone who's been touring consistently (except Covid Times of course) since September 2017, any relationship inevitably becomes one of that constant push and pull of missing and longing and the rush of being reunited, and I wanted to explore the warmth of that space."

"I don't belong to you (I was looking for a lover a lot like you)" sings a chorus of Sarah's vocals on "Belong," a song about the choices we make for self-respect and self-preservation. The gentle guitars in "Lazy" underscore Sarah's ethereal and haunting vocals and is described by the songsmith as being "all about textures and light and love, the feeling of a stretch after waking or a light finger down your spine." The indie rock of "Better Friend" laments the end of a relationship and how often the saddest parts of a breakup are losing a friend who knows you better than most.

The subtle bass and violin groove of "Best of Us" explores getting stuck in a situation that can't fully be seen as we are too far inside of it, and it questions the ability to escape. The driving and complex rhythm of "Razor Line" "is a math-rock-y exploration of that feeling of just barely holding on when you look into a mirror or into a big open empty sky for way too long," explains the singer. "It's about finding the edges of yourself and realizing they're maybe a little blurrier than you knew"

Light and exquisite, "Water" "is about being deeply affected by an experience -- being swept under by the tide, meeting the wrong person at the right time, being forced to spend a year in pseudo-confinement -- and choosing to move forward despite the knowledge that a part of it will remain with you always," says Sarah. "Just because it's there doesn't mean you have to drown in it. And--everything is cyclical. The process may lead you back to the sea, but soon enough you'll become rain again and you can go anywhere the wind takes you."

The album closes with the piano driven title track. "There's still a lot of talk even in today's social climate of softness and sensitivity as feminine or weak qualities but I've always wanted to challenge that," expresses Sarah. "There's so much power in empathy and love and forgiveness and when we cut ourselves off from that I think the strength that's left over is brittle and harsh, and I just can't believe in a world where that's the only way. This song is gentle and tender and I wanted it in a way to evoke being in the middle of the ocean by yourself, but it's that the ocean is holding you, not drowning you. You can choose to let it carry you instead of fighting it."

Sarah Elizabeth Haines was used to living in the harmonies, the lines outside of the spotlight. A classically trained violist and violinist, she plays both instruments in the touring production of Tony award-winning Hamilton (she's performed in over 800 shows of the musical) and the New York City-based contemporary classical chamber group Contemporaneous. Previously, she's toured with Les Misérables and Kansas City Choir Boy (featuring Courtney Love) and been a co-bandleader of Americana-folk band Bellehouse and a member of orchestral rock band Emanuel and the Fear.

Watch the "In the Morning" music video here:

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