Texas-born, Nashville based singer + songwriter LJ released her debut EP Pick Me after signing with RED Creative Group. The EP was recorded at Castle Studios where legendary artists such as Alabama, Bob Dylan, and George Strait have recorded. LJ enlisted producers Jeremy Stover who also has co-written Justin Moore’s “The One Who Didn’t Make It Back Home”, and Boys Like Girls’ Paul DiGiovanni who are also working on her full-length release.

The EP inaugurates with “Scarecrow,” the soften, tempo cardinal ode to leaving home. This song encompasses rolling drums, blithe-fretwork as her vocals annotate the reasonings why she couldn’t just stay. “I couldn’t just stick around, tethered to the ground // Watchin’ the sun go down, without one to chase and // I’ve got my own seeds to sow, the only way they’re gonna grow is to // Throw them in the wind and see where it takes them // That’s why I had to go couldn’t sit and watch the corn turn gold // Like some old scarecrow.”

The title track “Pick Me” is a weighted aria as LJ ruminates back on the feeling of loving somebody but having to let them go. It’s an assemblage of recollections and feelings throughout the start of the relationship to the end. “You just had to go and tear me down // You just had to have it your way now // Selfish boy it could’ve been so good // But you just had to go and break my heart // Crushed my dreams and killed my spark // Wish something else caught your world when you reached down to pick me // Of all the flowers, you just had to pick me. //

“Vegas,” written by Kelly Archer and Nathan Spicer, initiates the free-spirited essence of the sin city superimposing optimistic instrumentation. Back in October of 2019, we highlighted LJ in an NYCS Swag Spotlight where she exclusively spoke about her single. The singer + songwriter incontestably shot the music video for this single with her professional baseball player husband where they also renewed their vows. She told us: “When I was dating Ricky, I remember feeling like I wanted to run off and marry him, so we wanted to give that feeling of like, getting on a plane and going to the place that has tested the time of running away and getting married.”

The newly-released single “The Two of You” fixates on LJ’s gravelly vocal work while amalgamating a medium-tempo drive unleashing her sassy side while “Suit Yourself” unveils that same cheekiness. The singer + songwriter got the idea for the track while watching Gidget Goes Hawaiian, she told NashvilleGab. “Suit Yourself” is a blend of homey-blues with the takeaway being: “If my love doesn’t suit you, then suit yourself.”

LJ divulged her elation on her social media, “A lot of years, miles & memories went into making this debut EP. Each of these 5 songs I am so incredibly proud of… four of them you know and the 5th one is the final piece we have been saving. If you’ve streamed my music once or 1000 times, I want to say thank you. Thank you for giving me and my music a chance. Thank you to my team at Red Creative Group, and Brooke Antonakos for having my back and for believing in the vision. I love you Brooke! Huge thank you to @pauldigiovanni & @jeremystover for helping make this music what it is. Y’all are incredible. Thank you to all my collaborators in these songs. I had the best musicians in the world play on my record. To my husband Ricky, thank you for believing in me and supporting my dream. I love you, baby. To my family, thank you for your support and all the prayers you’ve prayed over me. God is so good! I love this music and I hope it brings you some sort of hope, love or peace. Here is my debut EP, these songs are my story, this is me.”

Follow LJ on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

Pick Me Tracklist

Scarecrow
Pick Me
Vegas
The Two of You
Suit Yourself

 

 

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