Katelyn Tarver is a Los Angeles, USA-based indie pop artist who has just come to my attention through the release of her second album. A tale of life in her early 30s, including battles with imposter syndrome and self-worth, it’s called Quitter.
By Graeme Smith
Feature photo by Irida Mete
It seems more and more of us are hitting our 30s and having something of a mini-crisis. It’s not the same as the quarter-life crisis that hits us in our 20s, and it’s too early for the mid-life crisis to come. It’s a sort of uncomfortable middle ground where we see our youth slipping away and wonder if we’ve been on the right track thus far.
Fair play to Katelyn for taking these feelings and making a record about them. If you’re suffering from, or remember, the malaise of your early 30s then Quitter is a must-listen album. Katelyn bares her soul, her faults, her strengths and it all adds up to a compelling story, right from its simmering, pensive yet warm title track all the way to its latest single and album closer One Without The Other.
The latter is a particular highlight. Opening with gentle piano, Katelyn’s vocals are at their most exposed and most beautiful. The lyrics are rich with vivid detail as it wraps up the themes introduced in the album. Slowly it builds to a timeless and understated conclusion.
In between we get a heady mix of quiet philosophy (What Makes A Life Good?, Parallel Universe), honest self-reflection (Starting to Scare Me, Cinematic), soft yet anxious pop (Ignorance Is Bliss), heartbreak (Revisionist History, Just a Person), and bittersweet storytelling (Japanese Café, Friend Like You).
Originally from rural Georgia, Katelyn moved to Los Angeles as the age of nineteen following participation in the American Juniors talent competition. A songwriter as well as performing her own music, she co-wrote Cheryl Cole’s hit Crazy Stupid Love among others. Her first album Subject To Change came out in 2021 to much aplomb.
Quitter is a collaboration with Jonny Shorr, Grammy-nominated songwriter and producer Scott Effman, producer Chad Copelin and co-writer Delacey. The album is out now via Nettwerk, available in all the usual places. You can check it out below.
