Embrace Nostalgia With vendor’s Debut EP “been there before”
If you’re looking for a listening experience that feels like you and your childhood bestie are the last people awake at a sleepover, the two of you curled close as you whisper secrets, stories, and late-night revelations in the dark while trying to smother your sleep-deprived, delirious laughter, then indie musician vendor’s debut EP “been there before” is for you.
Vendor is the musical alias of 25-year-old Amelia Clark, a Southern musician living in NYC and working as hard as she can to make music with her friends until she dies. She would self-describe her music as the kinds of songs you listen to in the car with the heat on and the windows down. Her debut EP “been there before” is the combined efforts of Clark and her instrumental co-writer James Touchton as well as a slew of other musicians in and around Middle Tennessee, Clark’s place of origin. She views her music less as an avenue for a message or performance and more as a way to catalog her life and the people in it, which is communicated through the characteristic nostalgia and vulnerability of her songs.
The softness of the opening track “denver” envelops you like an old blanket that smells like home while you’re driving to a new destination. Conflicting feelings of uncertainty and familiarity are explored through the scene of a road trip: “I don’t know where we’re going, but I swear I’ve been there before. And if you drive a little faster, we could get there before I know much more.” Equal parts vulnerable and self-assured, vendor’s alto floats delicately against echoed guitar plucking, mimicking the snow mentioned in the song. Much like driving on a mountain road that seemingly winds back onto itself to progress forward, the lyrics recount the sometimes painful journey of individual growth: “Finally let it go, pray the claw marks don’t show, all in all I think no damage was done.”
“caught up in it” upholds the tradition of an old-fashioned, feel-good jam grounded in powerhouse vocals. In this standout track, vendor’s soaring voice takes on an edge of slyness in bluesy runs backed by cymbal-forward drumming and catchy guitar riffs that are impossible not to get caught up in (wink, wink) just like the subject of the song. The track weaves a tale of unrestrained desire and captivation for someone “quick as the ocean, but she’s twice as mean.” Vendor’s vocal range and texture shines in the repeated refrain “she’s so good,” her voice an instrument in its own right.
Like a meandering conversation with an old friend, the energy of “caught up in it” shifts back to a restrained acoustic melody in the moody track “eastside” that opens with relatable feelings of self-consciousness: “I think of myself as a very smart girl, but you say that I won’t understand.” This track is emotion-centered songwriting at its finest. A bittersweet narrative expands within the limited stanzas of a song—“I don’t want to think I was holding you back while I gave every ounce of myself, reduced to a girl from that part of your life that you pack up and put on a shelf.” The lyrics live in the duality of being incredibly personal and universally understood at the same time.
The energetic “parents’ place” opens with a line from a voicemail—“Dude, listen up, have I got a story for you—” that summarizes the unique mix of nostalgia and optimism within been there before. The track delivers on its opening promise and feels like eavesdropping on a gossip session between friends at the table next to you. The giddiness of new feelings are set against a familiar backdrop: “See you at the hometown spot again, remind me who I’m not, I’m not again.” The tone of the song is equal parts excited and exasperated—“Everywhere I go I see your stupid face—” but overwhelmingly joyful, expressed by her break into laughter during the song.
Through revisiting the past places and selves she’s experienced, vendor revives and validates old feelings and unearths newness within the nostalgia. This debut EP inspires compassion for who we were in each moment of our past, even the difficult times when we were unable or unwilling to give ourselves the grace of knowing we were somewhere we hadn't been before.
Listen to been there before here, and follow vendor on Instagram for updates on upcoming releases.
