Damen Easton and Jimmie Herrod Mull Over the Burden and Release of Dreams on New Singles “Carnival” and “The Stars”

The stars have aligned in bringing together two incredible talents: artist/composer Damen Easton and singer/songwriter Jimmie Herrod have banded together for a collaborative mini-EP. Although only two songs long — “Carnival” and “The Stars” — the collection is a stunning introduction to the pair’s exceptional talent and chemistry. One that showcases Easton’s ear for crafting rapt crescendos of melodic emotion, providing ample space for Herrod’s unbridled vocal vaults.

Both songs launch themselves toward paced but ecstatic releases that are made all the more galvanizing thanks to Easton’s production and Herrod’s electrifying croons. In many ways, the two are tied together thematically, exploring the dissonance and tension that modern life has imposed on the pursuit of dreams.

On “Carnival” they capture the bittersweetness of being pulled and told to reach for the stars — wrestling with the heft of such a lofty aspiration. Against a dually rousing but mournful swell of riffs, Herrod’s stratospheric cries pierce profound heights.

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“The Stars” emerges as a kind of resolution and soothing answer to “Carnival.” Buoyed by luminous strings and lambently glowing guitars, Herrod gives voice to a desire to abandon the pipe dreams and blind ambitions that have been disguised as earnest pursuits.

“What if we don’t reach for the stars?” they ask with lucid boldness. “What if we just love what is ours?” The song’s twinkling melody and glowing sincerity offer something of an answer — tenderly insisting that there’s more than a little peace to be had in letting go.