American singer-songwriter, musician, and recording artist Travis Shallow encourages us to stay strong and "Let It Pass" in a cathartic new single.
In 2012, Travis Shallow left his former band A Few Good Liars to embark on his solo music career. After recording his debut album, engineer Andrew Ratcliffe mentioned that "Shallow is a singer whose vocal personality is ultimately a category unto itself, like a Willie Nelson, an Otis Redding. He could sing anything and make it sound great, make it well worth listening to."
We can genuinely agree with that statement, as Travis Shallow's latest single, "Let It Pass," brings us through an incredibly relatable, genuine, and heartfelt scenario. Shallow wrote this song right before the pandemic struck while watching his friend go through a divorce and attempting to put broken pieces back together. "It's like holding onto an electric fence waiting for it to stop hurting you when all you have to do is let go," he says.
Listening to the soothing single, "Let It Pass," the song gently opens with tender and layered acoustic guitar melodies to amplify the soulful and heartfelt atmosphere. As Travis Shallow begins to serenade us, the delicate emotion and heart that seeps through his vocals are enough to send chills down our spines, especially as he encourages us to let go of relationships and people that don't serve us any longer.
We can't get enough of the song's nostalgic feel, especially as Shallow reminisces on the past and how we seem to look at look behind us with rose-colored glasses. As he leads us to the song's end, we're left nodding in a state of reflection with help from Shallow's dense lyrical content.
Move on and "Let It Pass" with Travis Shallow's latest single, now available on all digital streaming platforms.
Thank you for catching up with us at BuzzMusic Travis Shallow. We deeply appreciate such a relatable and heartfelt single like "Let It Pass." Did your experience with your friend's divorce solely inspire this single, or did you have your own experiences merged in the process as well?
Watching my friend go through that divorce was just the launchpad. It’s easy when you’re on the outside looking in to say “man, why doesn’t she see that it’s over…and it’s time to walk away”. That kind of insight is easy when it’s not YOU going through it. But I think we’ve all been the ones in the eye of the hurricane that can’t see past what’s right in front of us. The song initially took shape from that idea and “if it ain't meant to last, you gotta Let it pass” became the anchor.
Why did you choose to keep the instrumentals in "Let It Pass" down to a minimum with the layered acoustic guitars? How does this instrumental enhance your lyrical theme?
The album before Let It Pass was a full band record called “The Great Divide, and it was full production and we went deep on layering and big sounds. That was a really fun record to make, but after that one was released and did its rounds, I was ready for simplicity again. Back to home base, which has always meant just me and an acoustic guitar. Keeping things sparse and letting the song have the spotlight was very intentional. I did have my guitar player (Bob Russell) from The Deep End (my full band) come in and play those haunting swell-atmosphere-sonic-blanket accompaniment parts. Watching him do that in the studio with an old Gretsch, a couple of delays and a volume pedal with that kind of touch and vibe really elevated this song. Those kinds of heartstrings put the listener into a certain room, and I wanted that.
What did you want to make your audience think and feel after listening to "Let It Pass?"
To feel something is always the goal right?! I’ve said this before, but I think I was writing this song as a reminder to myself just as much as I was to anybody that listened. None of us are immune to staying in situations or holding on to things that don’t serve us anymore for longer than we should. Now when I perform it, it’s kind of my reminder to keep the self-inventory daily work I do a priority. No room or time for old things and habits that don’t serve me anymore.
Why do you think that "Let It Pass" is your most successful release to date? What do you think your audience loves about this piece?
I think as the pandemic continued and the months started to stack up, people became hungrier for relief of any kind. I saw a lot of it not just from new music releases, but from live-streaming concerts too. I started a live stream early on last March, I kind of saw the writing on the wall that this could last for a while. So, I started a live stream that I did twice a week from my home studio that we slowly built a community around. And a lot of those people tuning in were new listeners to my music, so when to Let It Pass was released, there was no actual release show, but I did have an established live stream audience to do a live stream release debut which gave a nice sense of normalcy in the middle of the chaos around us. Thankfully my audience let this song into their lives and I’m humbled by that big time. And I’m still doing the live stream too, 138 episodes in and no signs of slowing down quite yet. I said as long as people keep tuning in, I’ll keep doing it. Wednesdays at 6 pm Eastern on my FB, IG, and YouTube if anybody’s curious and wants to catch a live version of Let It Pass. Hop on, it’s free. It’s been a silver lining of the pandemic for me.
Do the majority of your songs offer these introspective and vulnerable journeys, similar to "Let It Pass?" Would you say that your music is more lyrically driven?
I’d say this newer batch of songs that I’ve written since Let It Pass does seem to have a golden thread that goes a little deeper and tell a story that I haven’t told yet. I’m actually in the process right now of going through these songs and demos I’ve written since COVID and seeing if there’s an overall arc as an album release or just release them as singles. I’m just glad that the ol’ songwriting tree was bearing fruit during all of this downtime. It definitely has kept me from spinning off too bad. And to your second question, I’d absolutely say my songs are lyrically driven. Anybody that can play the guitar could probably figure out how to play my catalog pretty quick. I’m not reinventing the guitar, but the stories being told and the songs are hopefully getting better as I go. I’m a lifer either way, and I’m just grateful to still be here doing it and keeping the lights on.