Singer Songwriter Releases New EP with Santa Barbara Records

By the edhat staff

Singer-songwriter Conner Cherland has released his first EP, “Call Waiting” after recently signing with local label Santa Barbara Records.

This is the sixth EP for Cherland, a longtime Santa Barbara resident who recently moved to Los Angeles. While comfortable with acoustic stylings, this new record moves into an ultra-authentic, organic indie rock territory alongside the likes of Hozier and Shakey Graves.

“This is the first record of mine that I’ve ever cried to,” said Cherland, “Because I’m so proud of it, and it just moves me.”

The EP’s six songs explore love, loss, and emotional maturing with rare candor and clarity. Rich in universal sentiments refreshingly expressed, a recurring theme is the wistfulness of life’s transitional chapters, as we shed old selves and grope for fresh identity.

“When you’re from a small town and seen as pretty valuable and unique, then you move out into the real world and realize that no one really cares, that’s a really big disparity,” said Cherland, who grew up in Lancaster before relocating to Santa Barbara for college.

The first single of the EP of the same name touches on Cherland’s past teenage heartbreak and the advice from his father on young love.

“[My father] taught me life was tougher than the call waiting line – I don’t think my dad actually said this, but it’s the basic sentiment. Life is a lot harder than waiting to talk to a cute girl. It’s harder than getting dumped by her, it gets harder than hopelessness over a career and a purpose. Life requires a lot of grit. Passion/love isn’t what you think it is, it’s boots on the ground grit over a looooong period of time,” he said.

Produced by John Bottrell (Christina Perri, Keith Cullen) at L.A.’s Four Seasons Recording, Call Waiting is Cherland at his most polished and articulate, yet with his signature sincerity and sensitivity charmingly intact. The album’s second single “Heavy” conveys his emotional numbness upon relocating to Los Angeles and “You Are What You Take In” forms a farewell letter to a former self as he watches it devolve during the pandemic.

“It’s cathartic, but I hope people will feel excited, too,” said Cherland, “The lyrical content can really hit the heart, but if they just want to enjoy, it’s also right there on the surface.”

Listen to Call Waiting on Spotify here.