New Music: Leftwich – Let’s Just Be Honest

Leftwich places themselves between lo-fi 90s PNW rock and the soul-soothing themes of early shoegaze on Let’s Just Be Honest.

It doesn’t repeat the past, rather, in keeping with the lyrics, it also recognises that it can be time to let go. That might sound counter-intuitive, but by adopting stylistic and production choices from such a heavily mythologised era, they use them to create a track that is grounded and unreal, earthbound and ethereal. That may seem contradictory, and it is, but Leftwich – comprising Elijah and Lex Leftwich – finds a way to pull all that together as they look forward while keeping some lessons from the past close to them in a distinctive, surprisingly direct style.

They say about the track, “We created Let’s Just Be Honest around the urgency of reaching an emotional breaking point and questioning whether going on will only mean repeating the same mistakes. A raw, resigned vocal delivery and dynamic alternative-rock instrumentation confront perfectionism, uncomfortable truths, and accepting that some things, despite our best efforts, cannot be controlled or salvaged. It holds the pull between wanting to stay in a dream and knowing it may be time to let go.”

You can get to know the Nashville-based duo on their Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok feeds, where you’ll also find more listening options for Let’s Just Be Honest.