Calgary’s Sykamore has finally released her much anticipated second EP with “California King” today. I sat down with Sykamore to talk about this project. Here is a song by song review. It’s been a couple of years since we heard new music from Sykamore. She’s been busy working in Nashville after securing a publishing deal with Rhett Atkins in late 2017.
During this down time in the music industry Sykamore has been keeping herself busy as she handles most aspects of her brand. When asked about coping during this downtime in the industry when many artists are usually getting ready for the summer concert season Sykamore states, “I’ve been pretty busy with the admin side of things. I handle my own graphics, creating video content. I’ve been able to channel all of my efforts into the project, so I’m not exactly going stir crazy which is really nice. I’m a little jealous of people who get to watch “Tiger King” and binge watch Netflix all day. I’m actually better when I have a project to work on instead of just spinning my wheels.”
In the time since her last project, “Self + Medicine” Sykamore has kept quite busy, She has been working as a songwriter Monday to Friday and honing her craft and skills. “I’ve been getting a lot of time to experiment and get better at everything and strengthen my song writing muscles. I’ve been working on being a better song writer and musician.” Many artists seem to have a struggle with their second body of work as they spend a lifetime gathering music and songs for their debut. Based upon time constraints they sometimes suffer with putting their second project together. Sykamore faced some of these difficulties. As she says, “It was difficult, but a good kind of challenge. I don’t think it ever felt impossible. But because of my publishing deal, my day job was writing music so I had more chances to write a great song. I had more internal pressure to be better with this project than my last one.”
Another cliche that plagues some musicians is the sophomore jinx. Sometimes the second album comes off as hastily slapped together which can lead to bad reviews. This reviewer found this to be the opposite for Sykamore. He second EP, “California King” is filled with strong songs from front to back. Her sound has taken a bit of an evolution with a more pop styling than your traditional country. Although there is the backbone of a country feel to it, you can tell her earlier influences of top 40 radio shine through. She adds, “You need to get away from comparing the second album with the first album and look at it as a separate entity and an evolution of your sound as an artist. Your first project was this and now it’s a couple of years later and I’m a slightly different person and I have different influences. I’m going to keep them in separate categories. As an artist you do want to be a little more rounded and better the second time through.”
Now it’s time to dive into the EP. I’m a little remiss that this is only 5 songs long, but Sykamore says there are 13 tracks and this just a sample. There will be more to follow in the not too distant future. “California King” was produced by ACMA award winner Michael Knox, known for his work with Jason Aldean. Many critics want to pigeon hole artists into one genre or another, but Sykamore says, “I listen to a a lot of country, but I also listen to a lot of pop and alternative rock and a little bit of everything else. If your a songwriter, it’s hard to avoid some of each style blending into your music. In this day and age if you are considered a country artist, you can throw some other genres in and people are very accepting .” This project has a touch of Marin Morris, a dash of Margo Price and heavy hit of Taylor Swift, yet is uniquely Sykamore in her own right.
The EP opens with “Record High” which reflects that music is her drug. As the song states, ‘everyone has their medicine and they take it when they need a remedy…alone in my headphones I can let go…’ Sykamore states, “This is a special song for me. Before I was a performer, I was a listener of music. I’m still a gluttonous consumer of music. It occurred to me that while writing for this album I never really shined a light on that.” She drops a few song titles that have been a getaway for her from Stairway To Heaven to Highway To Hell. “I’d love to write a song that drops a lot of my favourite songs. I love the feeling of being high on records. I’ve been high on records my entire life.” This is a solid introduction to “California King.” Co-written by Sykamore, Jeff Cohen and Bobby Hamrick, its a mash up of songs “…that have been anthems that carried people through. It was a fun exercise as a songwriter.” I asked if she was concerned about being compared to Eric Church’s “Record Year” and she says, “We did discuss it, but there are enough songs today that are like that. It’s almost become a type of song that you can do. The context is a little different as well where Eric’s song is about getting through a break up and my song is about how music can rescue you and be an escape.” You’ll want to hit repeat with “Record High” and keep the headphones on as it’s catchy and infectious.
The second song, co-written by Sykamore, Jason Massey and Austin Taylor Smith, “Where To Find Me” is a haunting poppy number about relationships, whether platonic or romantic. “Relationships that are personal or intimate enough and you find you are spinning your wheels that person can come along and pull you out of the rabbit hole. It’s the ultimate symbol of loving somebody hen you can save them from themselves at times.” It’s a song many of us can relate to and vocally one of the best on the EP.
Onward we go. We are now at the halfway point of the EP with track three, and my personal favourite, “Out Of Luck”, penned by Bobby Campbell and Sykamore, is a beautifully put together arrangement that opens with tug at your heart strings piano playing of aforementioned collaborator Bobby Campbell. You can tell it was written on a rainy day as it has a certain gloom to it, but not too much that would turn you away from listening to it over and over again if you are going through a break up. “We were talking about this heavy notion. What if you’ve already found love and it passed you by and you missed your chance, It was a perfect day to write a sad piano song. Bobby lent his skills to it and it sounds beautiful”: It sure does sound beautiful and it’s another song where Sykamore’s strong vocals shine. This is sure to be a song many young girls may put in their breakup playlist and get in their own “Record High.”
The title track is a cheeky little number about that person we all know in every group of friends, the “California King.” While it’s not about any one person specifically, Sykamore says, “I had the song title ready and my co-writers, (Justin Morgan and Justin Weaver) and I were trying to come up with a song that wasn’t about California King beds. I went home and thought about “Your’re So Vain” by Carly Simon and I thought maybe a “California King” is an alternate world. A guy who’s a movie star in his own head and needs to be brought down to earth and given a reality check. People have asked us if this is a term that existed before and I tell them it’s not. We just took a lot of lyrical liberties with the song and produced it as weird as it needed to be.” Sadly this might not be a single in the future. “It’s just a clever little stop on the record and it became so special that we titled the EP after it.” Look around your group of friends and see if you can find your “California King.”
The EP wraps up with what I would consider a new party anthem for the bar crowd. “Local Singles” was penned by Sykamore and Derric Ruttan and Christopher Stevens. “This was written with the crowd in mind. It’s a sing along for sure. The ultimate payoff for me will be to play it live and have people sing it back to me.” I then asked her, What does it feel like to have the audience start to sing along with your songs.” “It never really gets old. I always get this thrill and butterflies” Sykamore adds, “It’s this full circle moment. Songs start as yours and then they end up being everyone else’s. You hope that everyone can take your song and apply it to their own lives” Well many of us have been the “Local Single” at some point in our life. We’ve all had that period where we live life with no abandon and hang out at the bars a little too much and ‘…keep the neon flowing int he cold beer signs…” A great way to wrap up this 5 song EP.
It’s obvious that Sykamore’s sound has evolved. Her songwriting is tack sharp. Her lyrics are polished and have a great shine to them with staying power that won’t fade over time. The hooks will stick with you and you will be wanting more after the first listen. And she has promised more. As mentioned earlier there are 8 other tracks just waiting to see the light of day. I hope she doesn’t wait too long to release them. My only complaint about this EP: It’s too short. Sykamore’s sound has evolved to a great place. Grab it today where ever you get your music. For more information head to https://sykamore.lnk.to/californiaking
Sykamore will also be performing live this weekend. On Friday you can catch her on Sounds Like Nashville https://www.facebook.com/soundslikenashville/ Check out her Instagram feed for a live acoustic performance on Saturday night here: https://www.instagram.com/sykamore/
