“‘The Way I Love You’ is an unflinching, bittersweet eulogy to unrequited love,” Calista explains. “When I first wrote the phrase, ‘Someday, somebody’s gonna love me the way I love you,’ I found it heartbreaking. It took time, healing, and finally experiencing healthy, reciprocal love to understand how hopeful the phrase was. Acknowledging that one deserves better is the first step to receiving it. In wanting this song to be intimate and direct, I laid off pet names or metaphors. As a result, it defies genre.”
Calista delivers flairs of Latin, blues, roots and pop, all tied together with introspective lyricism. Her distinctive, expressive style and musical ingenuity shines through on Confession. “The Way I Love You” comes after the release of “The Coals,” which gained immediate support from Spotify’s official “Fresh Finds Folk” playlist, along with “Kalamazoo” which Under The Radar remarked as “a delightfully vintage piano rocker, recalling Elton John’s glam-laden tributes to rock…adding a euphoric nostalgia and playful glamor to the track while she knits it all together with her immensely expressive vocal talents.”
Recorded at Plyrz Studios and produced by GRAMMY Award-winning producer Jim Scott, Confession showcases a “new classic” style — with a fresh, modern twist that hearkens back to the ‘70s era — drawing inspiration from legends such as Fleetwood Mac, Tom Petty, Paul Simon and Joni Mitchell.
“I sat with myself for a couple of years during the pandemic, and I felt myself change,” Calista opens up about the inspiration behind Confession. “I’m now 21, and will be 22 by the time the record is out…there’s a lot of wiring and rewiring during this stage of life. I’ve moved to New York City by myself, I’ve had my heart broken a couple times since the last record, and a lot of strange, beautiful and difficult experiences. I learned that the best way to deal with hardship was to stare it in the eye, then just keep moving. I think the world’s gotten too crazy for music you can’t move to.” Collectively, Calista devotes Confession towards personal growth and learning to love your imperfections.