You may, after a little while, feel like you recognise this song – and that’s not so inexplicable as this is a cover of a song best know for the version by Mariah Carey. Gone, though, is the big pop R&B arrangement as Skoda strips the song down to the bone, creating a gorgeously sullen Americana (or, as Skoda likes to call it Mariah-cana) rendition. It was recorded on a sunny afternoon in the living room of Malachi DeLorenzo (Langhorne Slim, Izaak Opatz) who set up a tape machine, placed some room mics and let them do their thing. Skoda played guitar and sang with her friends Dylan Rodrigue (background vocals, guitar) and Sie Sie Benhoff (background vocals), their rehearsal time for the session were the shows that they all played together leading up to the recording day.
‘Can’t Let Go‘ makes up one of three tracks on the Los Angeles singer/guitarist’s new EP, ‘Living Room Sessions EP‘, which will be released on May 26th. It’s a release that was inspired by The Grand Ole Echo, a weekly Sunday music series every summer at The Echo in Silverlake. at which Leeann Skoda has been a regular participant.
Speaking of what drew her to cover ‘Can’t Let Go’ Leeann Skoda told Americana UK: “As a kid I was so enchanted by her voice and songs – it was a bit of an obsession. I knew every song, every lyric. She’s what made me want to be a singer – to be a part of that magic, too. So it’s probably true that she affected the course of my life.”
