How's everyone holding up? During times like these we are all reminded that positivity and gratitude are powerful antidotes to the challenges we might face. Even though we're keeping our distance socially, we're coming together digitally now more than ever through our shared love of music. So to all our listeners out there, I'm pleased to announce that Pace Myself hit the 1 million mark on Spotify! Big shout out to all our fans and family that continue to show their love and support worldwide. This track has been a monster. At one point we hit #32 on iTunes Belgium R&B/Soul charts, and on the Top 100 in several other countries. One of Pace Myself’s tipping points was it’s addition to the Monday to Monday playlist curated by Gary Vaynerchuk. (@garyvee)
Pace Myself is a Holy Mattress Money song written by the talented Evann McIntosh. Anyone familiar with McIntosh (check out the track What Dreams Are Made Of) will instantly recognize the earnestness and heartfelt vulnerability that transpires in her vocal delivery.
The track starts off with a synth that softly coats the build up with her singing, inviting a string section and finger pops along for the cloudy ride. And when it drops us off at the chorus we get that infectious funky bass line as McIntosh sings “And as it turns out the frame is only big enough for two / So I’ll stop trying to paint myself next to you.” The instrumentation is kept purposefully minimal throughout the track, making a perfect surface for her voice to glide over. But every plink of a guitar chord, bass thump, and string come together in a crescendo for the final chorus. It's a silky, soulful, and honest take that she describes as a “heartbreak anthem.”
The lyrics show so much emotion and maturity from the young artist--but the truth is she wrote the song when she was just 12 years old. What this shows is an understanding of the complexities of a relationship that are universal to all listeners, and a unique ability to put those feelings in a song. Lyrics are something so subjective and personal to the artist, but I love how the language paints a picture of a relationship where one person is trying to measure up. Who it's written about will remain a mystery, but at least she got a great song out of it.