Veronica Stanton represents sheer Nashville can-do. Moving to Music City from Jenkintown, Pennsylvania, in 2016, she immediately dove into its songwriting scene while taking vocal lessons with Erin Rae. One connection led to another, culminating in a stellar debut EP, 827 Miles, produced by Dan Knobler (Caroline Spence, Lake Street Dive) at his Goosehead Palace. Now, Stanton is returning with a debut full-length release set for 16 September, Caught Up on a Feeling. Its dreamy Americana might just put Stanton a head above her contemporaries.
“I’m No Good” is Stanton’s latest single. Opening with ethereal, harmonic layers, the arrangement invites a string collective. Pieced together by stems from Connor Vance in Los Angeles, Stanton remarks, “To me, the instrumentation reflects the content of the lyrics, and I think the strings mimic how it feels to have a flurry of thoughts in your mind.” On its harmonic content, she says, “I’ve always loved harmonizing, so I had so much fun in the studio arranging and recording the layered vocals that start the song.”
The tune builds into a stirring crescendo, Stanton’s warm vocals naturally lending to its emotive core. Her intrinsic storyteller’s notion lends itself well to this first-person narrative. She says, “I wrote ‘I’m No Good’ when I felt frustrated about my mental health. I’ve always been an over-thinker, but it had gotten to a point where I was spending hours a day ruminating, and sometimes my mind would take me to some dark places. At the time, I couldn’t really see how things could get better, and I was scared, but writing this did help me get through it. I hope it reaches people who may struggle with mental illness and that it helps them feel seen, loved, and a little less alone.”