Los Angeles-via-Georgia singer/songwriter Katelyn Tarver releases a poignant yet resilient new single, “All Our Friends Are Splitting Up.” The song is from Tarver’s upcoming album Subject to Change – a suitably titled project after this past year – available digitally on October 15, with CD & LP release on November 12 (international LP available January 14, 2022). “This song is a look at the complexities of a long term relationship,” she explains. “The fear that can creep up when you feel disconnected, and the realization that you can’t predict what problems you’re going to run into when you decide to spend your life with someone. All you can do is promise to stay and fight for each other when those problems feel really big.”

On this new album, Tarver emerges as the rare kind of artist capable of capturing painful truths in impossibly lovely pop songs that strike every raw nerve. This is apparent on first single “Shit Happens” — inspired by a podcast episode of Unlocking Us with Brené Brown (“Tim Ferriss and Dax Shepard on Podcasting, Daily Practices, and the Long and Winding Path to Healing”) — in which Tarver explores the hard truth that painful experiences don’t always come with a reason why. Subject to Change’s graceful convergence of pop, folk and indie-rock spotlights spellbinding vocal work from Tarver, whose journey as the title suggests is ever-changing. 

With a record of media acclaim from the likes of several media outlets and millions of followers, on Subject to Change Tarver documents a turbulent period in her recent past, shedding light on all the grief, confusion and a lost sense of self. Infinitely brightened by her radiant voice, the result is the musical equivalent of a brutally honest conversation with a close friend — one that leaves you undeniably rattled but with a renewed clarity and deeper understanding of your own chaotic heart. Co-written and produced with longtime collaborators including Davis Naish, David Arkwright and Justin Gammella (Ashe, Lennon Stella), the album is set for release midway through Tarver’s tour with JOHNNYSWIM that kicks off on September 30. 

“I think a lot of us go through that phase in life where you ask yourself, ‘Is this it?’ It can be so isolating and so hard to talk about, especially with social media and all the pressure to always have your shit together,” Tarver explains. “Life is unpredictable. For all the stories of triumph and resilience, there are just as many stories of failure and getting lost. The addict relapses. The happy couple gets divorced. The one you’ve put on a pedestal lets you down. Finding the love of your life doesn’t solve your problems. You know the expression, the only way out is through? These songs are me making my way through. Giving myself permission to not have the answers. Letting myself feel it all. The pain, the joy, the confusion, the bittersweet in-between…I learned that uncertainty can be an open door. And that change is a constant invitation I want to learn to accept.”

Photo Courtesy: Ethan Gulley