Rachel Bobbitt – The Half We Still Have
“Most of the moments I have had in my life that felt right, like they made sense, and I was closer to grasping what we are all here for, have been a result of human connection. It can be so beautiful, and it can also be desperate and damaging. I have had connections in my life that made me question the fundamentals of my character, and unfortunately, I don’t think that is uncommon. But throughout every complicated, demoralizing or harmful relationship, there has always been a small sliver of myself that remained mine, even when I didn’t feel it. ‘The Half We Still Have’ centers around that small sliver, and the connections that threaten it.” - Rachel Bobbitt
On The Half We Still Have, Rachel Bobbitt’s remarkable new 4-track EP, the Toronto-based singer-songwriter has crafted a series of sharp and incisive character studies that slice through traditional notions of mythmaking and identity with unflinching honesty and emotion. Amid the piercing intuition and fearless self-reflection lies a transportive confessional that slides even deeper into the cutting observations she so vividly imagined on last year’s debut outing, The Ceiling Could Collapse.
Produced and mixed by Jorge Elbrecht (Sky Ferreira, Japanese Breakfast) at 80A Studios in Toronto, The Half We Still Have features a tight-knit musical core: Rachel (vocals/guitar), her close musical partner, Justice Der (guitar/e-bow), Stephen Bennett (drums/percussion), Isaac Teague (bass), Sam Laramee (synth) along with Alex George (strings), who spent much of 2022 coalescing on the road. That well-earned cohesion (gleaned through headlining and supporting slots for Indigo DeSouza, Sunflower Bean, Men I Trust and Bad Bad Hats), combined with Elbrecht’s visionary production, helps give Rachel’s expansive bedroom, art-pop compositions their shimmering toughness.
From the EP’s towering opener “Two Bit,” where the unfought battles are cemented in regret, and “Marian,” a mesmerizing, 4-minute tight rope over life’s unrelenting ‘what ifs’, to “The Call’s Inside The House,” a harrowing journey through abuse, guilt, shame and self-preservation, and finally “Clay Feet,” an obsessive tale of power dynamics and disenchantment, The Half We Still Have is a searing, empathetic work of musical non-fiction, and the freshest example yet of Rachel Bobbitt’s bold musical voice and artistic creativity.
Rachel Bobbitt – The Half We Still Have – Track List:
- “Two Bit” (Rachel Bobbitt)
- “Marian” (Rachel Bobbitt–Justice Der)
- “The Call’s Inside The House” (Rachel Bobbitt)
- “Clay Feet” (Rachel Bobbitt)