The video for “Young Girl” by Brooklyn-based Ava McCoy is beautifully put together by director Aidan Millroy; the gorgeous landscapes in Sisters, Oregon and Deschutes National Forest are the perfect accompaniment for the lyrical narrative, deep textures and arrangement of this absorbing song. These vast foggy mountains, winding roads and horses roaming through misty meadows are an inspiring sight. There’s a gorgeous richness and warmth to the guitar sound, over which McCoy’s voice finds and follows a beautiful melody.
Though raised in New York, the inspiration for “Young Girl” takes McCoy back to her roots in the countryside of Oregon. She says of the song: “‘Young Girl’ is a love letter to my younger self and all of the dreams she had. There have been many iterations of my creative self, and this song ties all of the varied versions of me into one. I sing about mistakes, breakthroughs, disappointments, and my core music memories as a kid.” Although the song is very much linked to a specific location, we can all associate with the idea of sending a message to a younger selves, addressing the fears and challenges ahead.
“Young girl” was recorded in Nashville with producer Josef Kuhn (Samia, Mali Velasquez, Annie DiRusso). She explains: “Jos and I recorded ‘Young Girl’ in his home studio in East Nashville. I spent a month there in 2023 working on my next album, and this song was probably the most fun. We wrote the bridge together, and really leaned into the true-Americana feel that the songwriting asks for. I made the video with my boyfriend, Aidan, when we were in Oregon visiting a former dude ranch where I spent a lot of summers. We thought the landscape spoke for itself, and showed a side to my bi-coastal upbringing that I don’t normally share. I had COVID at the time, so we just shot everything outside far away from people, and the horses really stole the show. I got Aidan out of bed at 6 am and we biked over to the meadow where the horses are let out every morning – the mist we captured is still one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen in my life. The video is a time capsule of a place and time I love so much, and shows me in my truest state.”
The single follows McCoy’s independently released 2022 debut “Moss on the Ceiling” and her recent EP, “Closer to the Bugs”, her first release on Acrophase. This is beautiful stuff and we look forward to her next full-length album soon.
