Monday, August 31, 2020

Izzy Heltai - "Songbird"

Photo by Joanna Chattman
The latest from Western Massachusetts's Izzy Heltai is an Americana/indie rock masterpiece. "Songbird" exists purely in the world of contemporary mainstream folk while still having his own edge to his music to make the snobbiest of music fans happy. "Songbird" is a perfect example of that. It has all the twang you want in modern Americana, while still being incredibly pop, and having some of the intensity and uniqueness of indie rock. 

Izzy Heltai explains how "Songbird" came to be:

"I spend a lot of my time on the road, playing wherever anyone might listen to me. Whether or not this is the most strategic move for my career is yet to be determined, but I can say I have a lot of fun. I end up sleeping in my car a decent amount and am no stranger to the luxuries a Walmart parking lot can offer when on the road. I was in Pittsburgh one night in early June. At this point, I’d been touring for about a month and a half and was pretty drained. As a rule of thumb, many of us road trippers, car campers, or just plain ole’ masochists know that it’s Walmart’s common practice to allow overnight parking for the purposes of a good night's rest. This was the night I learned it’s apparently not a nationwide policy. Thankfully, the security guard who found me, cozied up in my sleeping bag, half-awake and reading a book by flashlight, took pity on me and gently encouraged me, while profusely apologizing, to try the abandoned parking lot adjacent to the one I was currently in. I thanked her and went on my way. I woke up the next morning with this melody in my head. The lyrics came pretty quickly, and after about an hour this song came into existence."

You can listen to "Songbird" below. Father, the debut album from Izzy Heltai, will be out October 9. For more on Izzy Heltai, check out his website.

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