Song of the Day: Sarah Bethe Nelson - Start Somewhere

Every Monday through Friday, we deliver a different song as part of our Song of the Day podcast subscription. This podcast features exclusive KEXP in-studio performances, unreleased songs, and recordings from independent artists that our DJs think you should hear. Today’s song, featured on the Midday Show with Cheryl Waters, is “Start Somewhere” by Sarah Bethe Nelson from the 2015 album Fast Moving Clouds on Burger Records.

Sarah Bethe Nelson - Start Somewhere (MP3)

A veteran of the San Francisco music scene as a supporting player, Sarah Bethe Nelson's debut record as a solo artists is built with the perspective and musical depth of a long-time lead. Nelson's role as a bartender, as well as her status as an alumnus of the Sacramento rock band Prariedog, in the Bay Area hasn't just provided a window into many of the local's heartbreaks and victories, it also set her up as one of the most well-connected individuals in the city's notably tight-knit scene, which means that her Kelley Stoltz-recorded, Burger Records-released solo debut, Fast Moving Clouds, arrives with plenty of hometown approval. Fast Moving Clouds is a considerably diverse introductory statement, with Nelson's airy voice gracefully floating over languid ballads ("Paying"), pop shuffles ("Impossible Love"), and hazy rockers (the title track). "Start Somewhere", the album's opening track, captures Nelson's lovelorn ethos in a three-word and two-chord chorus, which, is as it turns out, is all the space Nelson needs to nail it. Her opening line – "All that you learn by being tough/is how to love without loving that much" – starts off Nelson's lyrical advice on love before she reveals her own uncertain perspective in the final stanza. Spoken like a true bartender, "Start Somewhere" is wise, empathetic, and oozing with charisma, and even without a round or six (or seven) to warm you up, it's a total knockout of an introduction.

Sarah Bethe Nelson will head out on tour this summer with Sonny and the Sunsets, but there's no Seattle date announced at the moment, so keep up with Sarah Bethe on tour at her Facebook and Instagram. Below, watch Nelson play live at the Echoplex in March 2015.