Los Angeles-based artist Carmela occupies a dynamic crossroads of indie-rock-fueled retrospection. Deftly coalescing the stirring spirit of her songs around soul and folk ballads as well as ravishing rock blues. It’s the kind of fiercely cathartic music that demands to be heard live, which fans will have the chance to do when her upcoming tour brings her to Los Angeles at The Hotel Café on Saturday, January 29th and Genghis Cohen on Thursday, March 7th.
Intensely ruminative and unabashedly openhearted, Carmela first started releasing music in 2020 amid the pandemic. The involuntary idleness of the moment forced a decision on the creative endeavors that had previously only existed on the periphery of her plans. Instead of languishing away at home, she committed herself to crystallizing into words and music all the things she’d previously struggled with expressing.
Her first introduction came in the form of her debut Vital Fidelity EP — a five-track collection with sizzling and anthemic rollickers like “Bitter Pill” and “Don’t Touch Me.” While songs like the funked-out bass-led “Commitment” and acoustic ethereality of “Sea of You” revealed Carmela’s inclination toward stepping outside genre lanes.
Instrumental in Carmela’s growth as an artist and performer has been the community she’s cultivated on Twitch — using her channel over the years to host everything from live shows to album release parties. Her ability to connect with fans not just through the earnest energy of her art but on a social level as well has allowed her immense freedom in pursuing a music career.
When she finally dropped her first album New Stranger in 2022 it was shared with her global audience via Twitch, garnering thousands of viewers that joined her in welcoming its arrival. The record, which wrestles with the tribulations of the previous few years and grasps for audacious healing, is a cathartic revelation of blistering and reflective indie-rock.
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Carmela’s latest single “Just Jump” is the first new track to come since the unveiling of her debut LP. Once more she exposes her talent for renovating the melodic and sonic spaces she inhabits, creating a punchily invigorating ode to those daring risks that turn into fateful blessings. Its jumpy riffs and the springy delirium of its drums coat her words in an eviscerating urgency that exalts the possibilities that lie just beyond the reach of life’s leaps of faith.
Like so much of her music, the new single harnesses an unconventional tale of love into an encapsulated rush of emotion. “I tried to catch my breath / Cause I never did expect / That I would love you to death,” she confesses in bewilderment. But as she coos on the song’s soaring chorus: “That’s what happens when / You just jump.”
Words: Steven Ward
See Carmela in Los Angeles at The Hotel Café on Saturday, January 29th, and Genghis Cohen on Thursday, March 7th.
Visit Carmela on her website, TikTok, and Instagram to stay updated on new releases and tour announcements.
Carmela tour
JAN 19 – Wintersong Festival – Toronto, ON, CA
JAN 20 – SoFar Sounds – New York, NY
JAN 21 – The Bowery Electric – New York, NY
JAN 29 – The Hotel Café @ Los Angeles, CA
FEB 6 – Saddleback College @ Mission Viejo, CA
FEB 16 – The Wayfarer @ Costa Mesa, CA
MAR 7 – Genghis Cohen @ Los Angeles, CA
Listen to “Just Jump” the new single from Carmela below!
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