1 week Ago
Genevieve Stokes. Photo by Robin Glass Portland-based singer, songwriter and pianist Genevieve Stokes is releasing her first full-length album Friday on Atlantic Records and will be performing live at 4 p.m.
at the Bull Moose store on Waterman Drive in South Portland. Stokes then will take “With a Lightning Strike” on tour, with dates in the U.S.
and Canada, starting in Washington, D.C., on Oct.
14 and winding down at the iconic Troubadour venue in West Hollywood, California, on Nov. 7. Stokes’ hometown album-release show is Oct.
19 at Portland House of Music. Her performance Friday at Bull Moose is free and open to the public. Stokes, 23, is a 2019 graduate of Falmouth High School who started to play the piano when she was 8 years old.
During high school, she was also a student at the Maine Academy of Modern Music and performed original songs at several MAMM showcases. “With a Lightning Strike” follows her EPs “Swimming Lessons” in 2021 and “Catching Rabbits” in 2023. Since the release of “Swimming Lessons,” Stokes has received national media attention for her music, including a spot on People magazine’s emerging artists-to-watch list, and accolades from other publications and websites including Billboard, Nylon and Refinery 29.
Stokes has more than 1.2 million monthly listeners on Spotify, and her 2022 single, “Habits,” has been streamed more than 93 million times, with its video up to more than a half a million plays on YouTube. “With a Lightning Strike” is a dozen offerings of what Stokes does best: singing about human experiences, including mental health complexities and relationship undoings, with a voice that’s a double-edged sword of velveteen sweetness and I-will-hunt-you-down passion.
“I Can’t Leave,” “God” and “Mean Guy” are like journal entries that have been soaked in gasoline and tossed into a fire. When the flames die down, the charred remains are fished out and resurrected as songs. “With a Lightning Strike” was recorded at Stokes’ home and Airbnb rentals, an intentional choice that yielded an organic feel to the album.
“I felt that when I listened to Fiona Apple’s ‘Fetch the Bolt Cutters,’ you just hear, like, the dogs barking and feel that it’s in a room with a lot of sound and natural space. Because in studios, it gets kind of sterile, and you lose feeling,” Stokes said in an interview last month. Stokes produced “With a Lightning Strike” with her musician friends Pete Cararella (bass, keys) and Fiona Stocks-Lyons (drums, guitars, synths).
The other producer is Tony Berg (Phoebe Bridgers, Taylor Swift). This is the second time Stokes has worked with Berg. Her “Catching Rabbits” EP was recorded with Berg at the helm at the historic Sound City Studios (Elton John, Fleetwood Mac, Bob Dylan) in Los Angeles.
“Lightning’s” first single, “Dreamer,” includes the lines “I’m lying to your face now, screaming all the shame out,” yet Stokes doesn’t sound angry. Instead she’s documenting a couple’s demise with a big, bright song bursting with Stocks-Lyons’ drumbeats and synths and a swirl of guitars, keys, bass and piano. “Dreamer” slaps with empowerment and has a stop-on-a-dime ending, leaving the listener wanting more.
During the song “Life of a Woman,” Stokes’ laughter is audible toward the end. The subject matter of the song, however, is no laughing matter. “The life of a woman, afraid of her man” is repeated throughout the track.
Stokes said the song is not about her personal experience. “It’s more about, I think, from the perspective of a daughter of a parent that was abusive, and watching from the outside as someone you care about is in a toxic situation.” At just two minutes and 14 seconds long, “Desert Eagle” erupts with frantic yet infectious potency.
“I was just in the mood to make something really fun and energetic, but also moody,” Stokes said about the track. “The image of it being a desolate place with the bird circling I thought was interesting. It was more like a writing prompt for me.
” Two years ago, an acid trip had the unintended consequence of sending Stokes into an extended period of mental anguish. “I don’t know that the actual experience was terrible, but there were five or six months after where I was still really paranoid and having out-of-body experiences. So that really shaped my experience of writing, and I started using writing as a tool to comfort myself through that,” said Stokes.
One of those songs is “Amusing.” The track features Stokes’ vocals at their most tender as she sings about eyes that blink on their own. Stokes unpacked it.
“That’s kind of about the whole experience, and how like sometimes it felt kind of lighthearted and fun and like this magical kind of experience. But then a lot of the time I was panicking and felt really disconnected from myself and the people around me, and the ending is kind of coming to accept that feeling.” Stokes said the anticipation of starting her tour reminds her of why she never had birthday parties as a child.
“I was afraid no one would show up, and it’s so funny ’cause with touring, it feels like the biggest birthday party ever, where you’re like, ‘Come and see me.’ ” If the turnout at her appearance last year at Portland House of Music is any indication, Stokes has nothing to worry about, especially because “With a Lightning Strike” is a bold, lush album that will almost certainly propel her further into the spotlight reserved for artists with something to say and the artistry to say it. Genevieve Stokes album release show with Lily Kershaw 8 p.
m. Oct. 19.
Portland House of Music, 25 Temple St., $20 in advance, $22 day of show, all ages. statetheatreportland.
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