An open letter by Liv Nicholson
Talking About “Talk It Out”
My Open Letter To you
My debut EP “Talk It Out,” is a collection of the three songs I previously released this year in addition to the final title track. I’ve been wanting to release an EP for a long time now, but a few years back, I had to be honest with myself about the fact that I needed more direction as an artist before I could embark on my first real project. I spent a lot of time trying to fit this perfect mold and I didn’t understand why I wasn’t getting the response I wanted from my music. I started writing songs when I was 9 to help me cope with whatever I was feeling at the time, and I chose to pursue being an artist professionally because I wanted to write music people could relate to. Over the last few years, I’ve spent a lot of time writing, listening, and learning about what it is I want my music to say. “Talk It Out,” consists of the first group of songs I knew were 100% meant for me to sing. I think of this EP as a diary entry explaining what goes on in my mind 90% of the time and “Talk It Out” felt like the perfect title for this concept. All four songs come from a vulnerable and transparent place. I hope listening to it makes you feel understood, less alone with whatever you may be going through, and empowered in knowing that at the end of the day, we’re all just trying our best to figure this shit out. I hope you like the EP <3
Love,
Liv
Photo credit: Logen Christopher
Track 1: “Done”
I wrote “Done” about meeting the right person at the wrong time. I had just started dating my boyfriend, who’s quite a bit older than me, and things were getting serious really quickly. I was only 20 at the time, so I started to freak out wondering if I had just accidentally met "the one" before I was "done" dating around and being independent. It was a confusing position to be in. I wrote this one with Autumn Buysse. Looking back, it almost seems like a pro/con list. The verses describe what single life looks like, and the pre-chorus’s suggest throwing caution to the wind because screw it, I love him.
Track 2: “15 Minutes Late”
This one was a tiny violin moment for me. I was feeling pretty down about myself the day we wrote this song, AND I was running late to my session with Sarah Underwood and Tony Chetta. I had a full-blown pity party in the car on the way to the write, and then I realized I didn’t have any ideas to pitch once I got there. So, I started humming and the first thing that came out of my mouth was, “I’m always gonna be 10 minutes late.” The truth is, I’m usually anywhere between 5-10 minutes late getting somewhere, but 15 sounded better.
Track 3: “Fake It”
This one is so special to me. I think this is one of the best songs I’ve ever written, and funny enough, it was written in quarantine over zoom. In the summer of 2020, I decided I wanted to go on a weight loss journey. I did strict, strict keto for 2 months, did a 12 week workout program, and lost about 15 pounds. It was very rewarding, but at some points, very miserable. One day I was feeling pretty hopeless, and I wrote in my song notes “I’m sick of counting my calories.” I brought up that idea in a session with my friends Effee and Scott Griffin, and it turned into something much more than losing weight. This one’s about living in the moment and being completely true to yourself.
Track 4: “Talk It Out”
“Talk It Out,” is the title track and the only one out of the four songs that listeners hadn’t heard yet. A couple years ago, I went into a writing session with John Townsend and Meghan Garrison, feeling like I was spiraling, both personally & professionally. I wanted to push those feelings away and just get through the session, but I let my walls down and this is the song we got from that honesty. This one’s for all the chaotic romantics out there, who've ever wanted to "self-destruct" in a moment of weakness.