Lauren Mendelsohn Releases New Single "Falling Awake," Exploring Emotional Growth and Heartbreak

On Wednesday, September 4th, 2024, singer-songwriter Lauren Mendelsohn released her highly anticipated new single, "Falling Awake." This evocative track captures the emotional complexities of waiting for someone to change, only to face the realization that they never will. Mendelsohn's sultry vocals and poignant lyrics shine as she takes listeners on a raw, introspective journey through love, heartache, and personal growth. As a rising artist from Philadelphia, Lauren continues to captivate audiences with her relatable storytelling and powerful sound.

Please enjoy our interview!

Your music, particularly songs like "Falling Awake," touches on deeply emotional and personal experiences. How do you navigate the balance between vulnerability and storytelling in your songwriting?

That's a great question. My secret is to write about half of my songs about my actual life experiences, and have the other half be completely made up. Writing music is both an outlet for my emotions and for my creativity. I have written some of my most powerful songs at some of the lowest points in my (usually romantic) life, when I am experiencing true vulnerability. On the other hand, sometimes I will just invent a scenario or situation and try to put myself in the headspace of the characters living that reality.

"Falling Awake" is actually one of the latter examples. "Falling Awake" was written in 2018, almost 6 years ago; it's just taken us a long time to get ready to share it. I built the lyrics on top of a guitar riff that my brother, Jack, came up with when I was actually in quite a happy relationship. Maybe I was prescient though, because I have certainly felt like the narrator in "Falling Awake" many times since.

Falling Awake" explores the complexities of being in a 'relationship trance.' Can you share more about the moment you realized it was time to 'wake up' and how that experience shaped the song?

I think that in general it is so easy to lose yourself and your emotions in a romantic relationship, particularly one that feels out of your control. We can become addicted to feelings of anxiety and insecurity, mistaking them for excitement or love. It is so easy to lie to ourselves about the reality of our situations, particularly when the picture that we have of someone in our heads does not line up with who they are or what they can give in reality. To fall in love with the idea of someone, rather than see who they truly are. One of the bravest things that someone can do is break out of that pattern, particularly when they feel so dependent and attached to the other person. "Falling Awake" is about breaking the toxic mindset of anxious attachment, something that I've struggled with over the years. It's about finally realizing that while someone else can be great, that doesn't mean that they are what you need.

You often convey the ups and downs of young adult life in your lyrics. How does your own journey through this stage of life influence the themes you choose to explore in your music?

I am currently 27 years old and have been writing songs since I could speak, so I like to think of my lyrics as a kind of journal of my youth. Particularly, the experiences of my 20s and stepping into the adult world have been a powerful influence in my music. Especially over the last few years, I've felt myself mature from a timid kid into a woman who is truly figuring out what she wants. It has taken a lot of trial and error to get to that point, and you get to see those errors raw and unfiltered in my music. Aside from romantic relationships, I've written lyrics about the pressures of success, the draw to escapism, struggles with mental health, and a declining outlook on our world. I think that these feelings are ones that many people experience at all ages, and I hope that I can help people process their own feelings by relating to my music. I also have happy songs too, I promise!

Music has been a part of your life since you were very young. How has your sound evolved over the years, and what influences have shaped your current musical style?

Since high school, when I really started taking music writing seriously and learned how to play guitar, I have been heavily influenced by the folk rock artists of the 60s and 70s; particularly powerful lyricists like Neil Young, Bob Dylan, and Joni Mitchell. Because they were the artists of my parents generation, they actually took me along to see many of these artists live. I cried three times at the Neil Young concert. In the summer after my junior year of high school, I worked building hiking trails in the New Jersey Pine Barrens alongside a man who spent the rest of his year as a professional musician. He shaped so much of my modern music taste and the way that I view the world and adventure. He introduced me to artists like Gillian Welch and Angel Olsen, who still influence my music today. Recently, I've also expanded my taste in country music, and that has been influencing a lot of the writing I've been doing currently; particularly artists like Tyler Childers and Colter Wall. Writing music with my brother has also really helped expand the breadth of our music, as he brings an element of experiment and jazz that I do not come to on my own.

Your voice has been described as sultry and evocative, stirring deep emotions. How do you prepare yourself vocally and emotionally before recording or performing a particularly intense song?

I have never had much in the way of formal vocal lessons or teaching in my life. My vocal style is one that I've crafted independently over a lifetime of singing and listening to music. I've never had the best voice in the world in terms of power or range, but I think that I've built a style that works nicely with our music. Performing feels like the most natural thing to me in the world, and so there is no big preparation routine. When recording, I like to keep my eyes closed and focus only on the sound and trying to get as much emotion across in my voice as possible. The thing I am focused on the most now is performing with the band and trying to put everyone's musical styles and skills together in the best way possible. Playing with others presents new challenges, but also has so greatly expanded and improved the type of music I am able to play around with. I am really grateful to have such a great group of musicians to perform and explore our sound with.

Now that you're signed with Winding Way Records, what creative freedom or new opportunities have you found in working on your next LP?

It has been so great to work with John and Winding Way Records over the years. I met John for the first time when I was 19 years old, so he has had a major influence over my musical trajectory and I don't think that I would still be pursuing music today if it weren't for him. In 2016, my brother, Jack, and I wrote a song called "Goodbye New England" and decided to perform at a local open mic. After our performance, John came up to me, gave me a business card, and said that he was starting a new record label in the Philly area. As a career drummer, he had seen the way that big record labels and the music industry was screwing over musicians. He took it upon himself to do something about that. After just a few meetings, I quickly realized that John is just the type of person who gets stuff done, which is how I like to be as well. John has been so patient with me as I have pursued a career in science that at times has made it hard to focus on my music. The label books shows for me, provides the studio for recordings, helped me put a band together, and does promotion. Since I have a full time career outside of music, I certainly would not be able to do any of this without John and the rest of the label. I am so grateful and lucky to be signed to them and to know that they actually care about their artists.

Performing live can be a very different experience from recording in the studio. How do you translate the emotional intensity of your songs into your live performances, and what do you hope your audience feels when they see you perform?

I really love live performance. I don't experience any stage fright at all and am able to fully enjoy the moment and the crowd and the music. I actually get much more nervous having a conversation with somebody one-on-one than I do performing a song about my latest breakup in front of a crowd of 200 people. Something I've been trying to work on more is my banter between songs, as this certainly does not come as easily to me as performing the music. I hope that audiences just enjoy the music, see the passion that I have for these songs, and have fun listening to them. Even though I write about a lot of heavy topics, we try to keep the actual music as light and catchy as possible. Watching live music is one of the best experiences in the world when done right, and we are working really hard to craft an experience that listeners will enjoy.

As an artist, what do you hope listeners take away from your music, particularly from songs like "Falling Awake" that deal with difficult and transformative life experiences?

I hope that listeners can find solace in these songs when they are going through a tough time. I hope that they know that there are other people out there struggling just like them. At the same time, I don't want people to think that it's all doom and gloom. I love my life and am so, so lucky in so many ways. It's often just easier to write about the bad things than the good ones, but I'm trying to change that. I'm currently in a beautiful relationship, and a lot of the more recent songs that I have written are so filled with joy. Life is all about the balance.

About Lauren Mendelsohn

Lauren Mendelsohn is a talented singer-songwriter from the Philadelphia area who has been singing and playing music since she was 5. Lauren's sultry and evocative voice stirs heart-felt emotion in her lyrics, conveying the ups and downs of a young adult life, sometimes eccentric with an occasional murder ballad. Recently signed to Winding Way Records to complete her next LP she is performing live shows with her band in the tri-state area.

About Falling Awake

'Falling Awake' focuses on what it's like to be in a "relationship trance". When you know it's time to be done, that they're never going to change, and then finally getting angry enough to walk away. The song goes through the cyclical experience of almost gaining enough clarity to leave, but getting pulled back in to that trance until you finally "fall awake".

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