Kelly Hoppenjans - Can't Get the Dark Out (2022) Hi-Res

Songs about falling out of and in love aren’t anything new. The music industry has been fueled by both topics for decades. What’s always mattered – and will always matter – is how the artist talk about matters of the heart. It’s nigh onto impossible to write or sing about those concepts if they don’t understand them intimately and into the depths of their soul.

Listeners will instantly be able to tell if someone knows what they’re talking about when they start singing. Whether it’s pain or joy, they want to relate to the material viscerally and to connect to it on a personal level. People want to know that they can trust the music and the singer with their emotions.

On her brand-new EP, entitled Can’t Get the Dark Out, she delivers her pain to the audience on with an honest and approachable clarity. The five-song self-released album tells the tale of a woman who first experiences heartache and loss but then slowly finds true love. Raw yet mature in content and production, these tunes do not avoid the rough spots.

The project has this warm country-fied alternative rock feel the vein of Neko Case, Margo Price, and Ashley Monroe. Hoppenjans possesses an amazing alto that instantly captures your attention with its power and verve. She’s also a superb songwriter and arranger who balances lovely hooks with authentic lyrics that feel ripped from real life. Musically, she starts with a taut guitar-bass-drums setup, but she leaves plenty of room in the mix for her vocals to move and sway. Nothing feels crowded or overwrought, which I imagine provides ample space for grooves, licks, and flair when performing these tunes live.