Listen/Watch: Renata Zeiguer - "Follow Me Down"

photo by Chris Weiss

Late last year when New York based singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Renata Zeiguer announced the release of her debut full length Old Ghost with first single "Bug", there wasn't really a sense of what might set the record apart from what fans of hers might expect from her previous Cantina project. "Follow Me Down" however rectifies that almost immediately. Where "Bug" was a sprightly straightforward guitar pop jam, "Follow Me Down" is a somberer, groovier piano based song that sees Zeiguer achieving a more emotive side than "Bug". Zeiguer's songcraft has always been varied in her songwriting subjects but though vague, "Follow Me Down" offers a glimpse at the raw emotion that can color her songs. "Follow Me Down" is a moody see-saw as Zeiguer essentially wrestles with her feelings: "How can I keep you from following me where I go as I go?" she sings before revealing the track's first interesting counterpoint: that she doesn't necessarily mind. It's a track that tosses and turns as she comes to grips both with a new reality as well as lingering feelings; an acknowledgement of the dangers of familiarity and reacquainting oneself with their misplaced individualism.

The music video, directed by Sam Bader, features Zeiguer engaging in a bunch of solo rituals: from solitudinous late night strolls to writing/composing alone in her apartment. However much like the pervasive feelings she's trying to process, there's a sense that all is not as it seems as figures flicker and fade out of view like ghosts in Zeiguer's empty apartment and appear to her on the street. But even as the song wrestles with loss, there's a contentedness to Zeiguer's solitude and also her acknowledgment of her complex feelings as if she's just happy to be feeling anything at all. In that way "Follow Me Down" is an ode to feelings: messy, difficult, but hers to have and navigate and Zeigeur's celebration of that is artfully arranged and pleasantly plotted. Hardly surprising given her previously demonstrated songwriting prowess but appreciated nonetheless.



Renata Zeiguer's debut full length record Old Ghost is out February 23rd on Northern Spy. You can pre-order the record now.