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Cody Lawless Stays True with “It’s Always Warm In San Araya”

British Columbia-based indie-pop singer-songwriter, Cody Lawless (previously known as KNOWN) seeks better weather in new track, “It’s Always Warm In San Araya.”

Album art for It's Always Warm In San Araya featuring a sewn patch with the song's title beneath a set of mountains in front of a sunset.
Cody Lawless "It's Always Warm in San Araya" album art

The falsetto vocals and light, plucky guitar lines give this song a bubbly sense of fun that is nicely balanced by melancholier melody lines. For fans of Miike Snow (specifically the song “Genghis Khan”, this song will be right up your alley with a mix of softer indie rock and synthesized ambience that makes for easy listening that still has a nice sense of drive.

Overall, this song feels like a nice summer breeze that will have you swaying gently into the sunset. There’s a calm sense of contemplation that pours through each note. Lawless says that “This song means a lot to me because it sets the tone for the album, a fiery high energy intro with a booming bass line. This song is a reminder to me to always stay true to what you think and how you feel.”

His new album, Sunshine State of a Happy Camper, seems to straddle the line between a narrative-driven concept album and a declaration of his state of mind. “This album, on the surface, is about a small beach town called San Araya, its inhabitants (Maria, Grace, Sally, Dillan, Jenny, etc.) and their struggles and triumphs in life. This album is my story about wanting to break free from where I was in my life during the writing process. All the songs were instrumented, written, and recorded in under three hours each. I like to really just feel the music and the moment.”

“It’s Always Warm In San Araya” is available now on major streaming platforms like Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, BandCamp, Deezer, SoundCloud, TIDAL, Pandora, and YouTube Music.

Charlie Maybee

Charlie Maybee is a dancer, musician, educator, and writer based in Charleston, South Carolina who currently teaches with the Dance Program at the College of Charleston. His primary work as an artist is with his performing collective, Polymath Performance Project, through which he makes interdisciplinary performance art that centers tap dance as the primary medium of expression and research. He also currently plays rhythm guitar for the Charleston-based punk band, Anergy, and releases music as a solo artist under the name Nox Eterna.

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