Genevieve Stokes Desires to be Heard in Her New Single “God”
Photo via Genevieve Stokes
Born and based in Portland, Maine, singer-songwriter Genevieve Stokes strings listeners into the cracks and crevices of her mind once more in her new single “God.” With her debut album titled With A Lightning Strike on the way, she continues to prove that everything she touches turns to gold.
Stokes hints at influences from esteemed artists like Regina Spektor and Fiona Apple while establishing a unique, clear-cut identity to show who she is as an alt-pop artist and overall musician. Having signed with Atlantic Records back in 2021, she’s developed into a seasoned vocalist and well-loved figure over the years, with tracks like “Habits” and “Surface Tension” amassing a combined 100 million streams and gaining swift traction on TikTok. As a self-taught pianist from an early age, her ability to conjure up an ethereal airiness in her music using just keys and delicately layered harmonies often embodies the utmost complexity. Her recent EP Catching Rabbits is packed with raw emotions and dynamic metaphors atop precise vocals that lend themselves to visceral escapism– an impeccable example of what Stokes is capable of.
After the release of her latest single “Dreamer,” Stokes is back on social media to tease her next single, “God.” Snippets of the initial voice memo drafts can be traced back as early as September of last year, and, in Stokes fashion, these first renditions promised nothing but unabashed honesty. Paired with whimsical visualizers of the singer wading in a glittering swamp and standing amongst towering trees, this new era feels grounded to the natural world like never before. It’s all rocky shores, lush, rolling fields, warm skin, deep forest foraging, and hidden streams– Stokes is a New England girl through and through, after all.
In her new single “God,” Stokes wrestles with skepticism in a diaristic form of storytelling, and it digs deeper than what listeners have heard thus far. “God, you’ve let me down / Thought I knew you once before / In a small town,” she croons in the track’s opening lines without hesitation, addressing the subject directly and blatantly. It’s just Stokes and the piano this time around, with each key clinging to the air as her sweeping vocals tread an existential line: “God, are you here? / Did you grow tired of the show / And so you chose to go away?” She immortalizes the feeling of whispered prayers being tossed into the universe that long to be heard yet reach the threshold of doubt.
A glossy, lullaby-esque arrangement engulfs the latter half of the track, further creating a hollowness that allows Stokes’ words to invade the negative space and intimately confide with the listener. “And there’s never enough light in day / To help the darkness find its way out,” Stokes concludes with lingering piano twinkles– a powerful and profound final thought to the track’s stream of consciousness.
Being charmed by Stokes’ spell leaves us no choice but to follow wherever she leads.
Listen to “God” which is now streaming on all platforms. Her album With A Lightning Strike will be released on October 4th, which you can pre-save here.
