Toronto-based singer-songwriter Lia Pappas-Kemps unveils her latest single/music video, “Reservations,” a song made up of sumptuous indie-folk tinted with whispers of ‘90s alt-rock savors. Vaguely reminiscent of Alanis Morissette merged with Joni Mitchell, “Reservations” trembles with emotional vulnerability.
Pappas-Kemps explains, “’Reservations’ is about misconstruing warning signs and choosing to be blissfully ignorant in a relationship, rather than confronting it. I wrote it by myself in my apartment in Montreal and recorded most of it live off the floor with a group of some of my favorite musicians in Toronto.”
Produced by Elia Pappas, the song was recorded at Taurus Studios, engineered by Thomas D’Arcy, mixed by Howie Beck, and mastered by Kristian Montano. Musicians on the track include Dylan Burchell (guitar), Julian Psihogios (drums), Melissa Paju (bass), and Pappas-Kemps (guitar).
Pappas-Kemps broke through in 2021 with the release of “Jinx,” which has amassed more than four million streams on Spotify. Last year, she dropped her debut EP, Gleam, collecting acclaim from elite media outlets.
Multi-talented, Pappas-Kemps is a talented actor, making her debut in the short film, The Deceased, followed by taking on the role of Jane in Netflix’s Anne with an E. She also appeared in Assassin’s Creed Odyssey.
“Reservations’ opens on a low-slung, rolling mid-tempo rhythm topped by shimmering guitars. As the melody advances, it assumes suggestions of alt-rock flavors, giving the tune yummy, dreamy heft. Pappas-Kemps’ vocals suffuse the lyrics with delicious tonal nuances, alternating from breathy delicacy to darker lusters that ebb and rise on glossy timbres. At once fractally fragrant, lingering, and haunting, it’s a voice marinated in exquisite shadings.
With its wistful gliding sway, “Reservations” offers a marvelously tasty, musing impression of Chaucer’s truism that “love is blind.”
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