Watch Sarah Klang at the Paste Magazine East Austin Block Party Presented by Ilegal Mezcal
Sarah Klang joined us at Coral Snake Austin for our East Austin Block Party, sponsored by Ilegal Mezcal. Klang performed two songs from her 2021 album Virgo, and treated us to one brand new track from her upcoming yet-untitled album.
Full Session
For her first song, Klang sang “Ghost Killer” from Virgo. Dreamy guitar from Theo Stocks played as Sarah harmonized overtop, singing about letting go of a lover in the past, and their reminders remaining like a ghost.
“Ghost Killer”
Klang described the theme of the new record as a “coming of age album”, exploring her feelings turning 30, getting pregnant, and writing an album to distract from the frightening realities of both. Thinking of her teenage years, Klang described how she thought that by the time she had kids, she would be an “adult” who has it all figured out. But then “the time comes and you feel like you have nine months to stop being cuckoo,” Klang joked, while sharing that she still felt like the same person, not some “other” perfect version that had all the answers.
“Other Girls”
For her second song, Klang sang “Other Girls” from her upcoming album, a song about her experiences as a young girl at 14 years old. It feels as though she is not only singing to her younger self, but to us, and to her daughter.
“Nothing feels as good as being skinny / I was told / Nothing makes you happier than being pretty,” Klang sings in the first lines of “Other Girls”. Her words hit hard, as the song talks about the social pressure to conform and to push oneself into a box to fit to social norms.
Though most of the information on the new record is still under wraps, Klang agreed to share with us that it is “a celebration of girlhood”, as it was described by a close friend. “Other Girls” has Klang grappling with the complexities of becoming a mother and her own personal history. This album is not just about her daughter, but the woman that she might become.
“Anywhere”
Closing out, Klang played “Anywhere” off Virgo. “Anywhere” is about desperately wanting to escape from one’s own self deprecation and sense of inadequacy, with lyrics like “Why do I always cry when beauty hits my eyes / I would go anywhere anyway to find myself / ’cause I feel so lost all the time / do you have anything anything for me? / I would do anything for a cure, baby” echoing her sentiment of feeling unprepared and unsuitable for the adult life she is in right now, of otherness, and of not fitting in.
In the stream-of-consciousness song style that she’s become known for, Klang’s emotionality is overwhelming. She has an exceptional talent for finding the universal within the personal, which makes the experience of listening to her feel so intimate to one’s own strife.
Thank you so much to Sarah Klang, Coral Snake Austin, Ilegal Mezcal for helping us put together these East Austin Block Parties. Stay tuned for the following weeks to see more recordings we have in store!