Nearly two years since her single “I’m on Fire” was featured in the Nicolas Cage movie “Pig,” folk singer-songwriter and LA-native Cassandra Violet is back with the first single off her upcoming album, “The Tallest Mountain.” Written when she wasn’t teaching over Zoom during quarantine, the song is a significant shift in a career mainly comprising folk-pop musings. Far more orchestral in sound, “The Tallest Mountain” finds Violet reaching new heights on both the instrumental and her already mellifluous voice that soars with ease over the clouds. To celebrate her return, Cassandra Violet will be playing at the Moroccan Lounge on April 22 alongside fellow singer-songwriter Sarah Ault.
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Produced by AJ Minette of The Human Abstract, the gentle, fireplace-warmth emitting from the production contrasts the cold desolation in the lyrics. The romantic strings rotating around Violet come off as pleasant in the way an old 1950s song might come across on a Christmas night. But it’s the piano playing that carries the track over an uphill battle of monumental emotions, delicately gliding through the keys as if the fingers were the toes of a ballet dancer. Images like that remind just how cinematic the song is, completely enveloping through its relatable love woes.
When detailing the process of recording the track, Violet said she saw it as “[an] ode to feeling completely alone in the world after the end of a relationship.” That message certainly comes across strongly, whether it be the orchestra assembled for the song or Violet’s own soft and hurt vocals. But no matter how soul-wrenching the emotions are at the song’s core, Violet has released something unlike any other she’s made before, hopefully far more in line with what she has in store.
Words: David Sosa
“The Tallest Mountain” by Cassandra Violet is out on all streaming services. Tickets to her show at the Moroccan Lounge are available now. For news on Violet’s new album, follow her on Instagram and check out her website.
