RACHEL BOBBITT SHARES “MARIAN”
Music Video Ep Release Show Tonight In Toronto
The Half We Still Have Out Now on Fantasy Records
Fall Tour with Jessi Jo Stark On Sale Now
Emerging Toronto-based artist Rachel Bobbitt released her remarkable new EP, The Half We Still Have via Fantasy Records earlier this month. To mark the occasion, she’ll perform a special hometown show tonight at The Drake, and in addition, this morning shares a brand-new video for “Marian”. Watch it HERE.
“Marian,” one of The Half We Still Have’s standout tracks, is a mesmerizing, 4-minute tightrope over life’s unrelenting ‘what ifs’.
Rachel Bobbitt on “Marian” and it’s accompanying video:
“I wrote ‘Marian’ with Justice Der four years ago now. I was in an exhausting relationship, and somewhat in denial about it. Looking back, I think writing a narrative about a dysfunctional couple in the third person was my way of addressing my feelings without getting too close to them. “Marian” was a woman I made up and viewed as a character in a story, finding ways to justify her situation & negotiate away her gut feelings of doubt. It’s only in retrospect that I can see how much of myself I put into her, & how writing this song was me working through my own dysfunction.
“The video is an evening spent walking around with my now partner, who I created this song with and now share a life with. I wanted to capture some sweet mundanity to contrast the highs and lows experienced when the song was written.”
The Half We Still Have is a series of sharp and incisive character studies, told with unflinching honesty, piercing intuition, and fearless self-reflection. “I wanted these songs to reflect the intense dynamics that take shape in relationships,” Bobbitt explains. “I’ve found in some relationships, you give and give, only to eventually lose yourself in the process. In those moments where we feel abandoned and hollow, a small sliver remains intact, preserved, and personal.”
The EP’s singles “Two Bit,” which Paste called “another stomach-jilting piece of bedroom alt-pop perfection,” and “Clay Feet,” which saw support from Stereogum, Brooklyn Vegan and more, perfectly encapsulates Rachel’s remarkable gift for expressing universal truths in the tiniest of details. Listen and/or purchase The Half We Still Have HERE.
Produced and mixed by Jorge Elbrecht (Sky Ferreira, Japanese Breakfast) at 80A Studios in Toronto, The Half We Still Have is a searing, empathetic work of musical non-fiction, and just the beginning of an immensely bright future to come.
LISTEN TO THE HALF WE STILL HAVE
Rachel Bobbitt has announced a fall tour supporting Jesse Jo Stark. All dates below.
TOUR DATES:
8/17 – Toronto, ON @ The Drake (Record Release Show)
9/15 – Somerville, MA @ Crystal Ballroom *
9/16 – Burlington, VT @ Higher Ground *
9/23 – Montreal, QC @ Bar Le Ritz *
9/24 – Toronto, ON @ Velvet Underground *
9/25 – Detroit, MI @ Loving Touch *
9/26 – Cleveland, OH @ Grog Shop *
9/28 – Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle *
9/29 – St Paul, MN @ Turf Club *
9/30 – Milwaukee, MN @ Back Room at Colectivo *
10/1 – St Louis, MI @ Blueberry Hill *
10/3 – Kansas City, MO @ recordBar *
10/5 – Denver, CO @ Meow Wolf *
10/6 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Urban Lounge *
* supporting Jesse Jo Stark
More on Rachel Bobbitt and The Half We Still Have:
Rachel Bobbitt (vocals/guitar) is joined on The Half We Still Have by close musical partner, Justice Der (guitar/e-bow), Stephen Bennett (drums/percussion), Isaac Teague (bass), Sam Laramee (synth) along with Alex George (strings). The band’s tight-knit cohesion, combined with Elbrecht’s visionary production, helps give Rachel’s expansive bedroom, art-pop compositions their shimmering toughness.
Previous EP The Ceiling Could Collapse and now The Half We Still Have showcase strong songwriting prowess, a skill that Bobbitt has been honing for a long time. She made a name for herself on Vine as a teenager, uploading covers of pop hits and all-time classics to the now-defunct social media site. As her profile rose, Bobbitt found herself overwhelmed rather than inspired. “It was exciting to be doing what I loved, but it was difficult to be observed by that many people at that age where I simultaneously wanted to just shut myself in,” she says. “I’m grateful it ended when it did, because it gave me time to step back and think about what I wanted to create for myself.” She soon found herself at a jazz program, before leaving it during the pandemic to focus on her own music.
“Most of the moments I have had in my life that felt right, like they made sense, have been a result of human connection,” Rachel concludes. “It can be so beautiful, and it can also be desperate and damaging. I have had connections in my life that made me question the fundamentals of my character, and unfortunately, I don’t think that is uncommon. But throughout every complicated, demoralizing, or harmful relationship, there has always been that slice of myself that remained mine, even when I didn’t feel it. The Half We Still Have centers around that small piece, and the connections that threaten it.”
EP Artwork
Track List
- Two Bit
- Marian
- The Call’s Inside The House
- Clay Feet
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