Premiere: Mikaela Davis’ ‘Delivery’ Finds Lament Transforming Into Liberation

Mikaela Davis’ “Delivery” opens with glassy musings on burnout, laid over a descending, lamenting cabaret-like piano riff. “Well, you know I tried prayin’ / I tried to wish it all away / Even tried to meditating / But the feeling stayed the same.” It’s in the descent, though, where Davis finds her power, as she’s joined by roaring, fuzzy guitars and smashing drums. The kaleidoscopic visuals in the video follow the course of the song as it develops into a smirking anthem while Davis finds her footing, and lament starts sounding more like long-awaited liberation. It’s a trajectory that weaves itself into the rest of Davis’ debut album of the same name – Delivery, out July 13, finds Davis sifting through her angst and ardor, and the result is a sonic and stunning 10-track, genre-bending record.

Davis, a classically-trained harpist, arrived on the scene by way of Rochester, New York. After diverging from the conventional path of joining a symphony, she began touring her feisty, funky pop songs with a band. Now 26-years old, Davis has toured with the likes of Bon Iver and The Staves (who also contribute their haunting background vocals to a track on Delivery).

“A lot of these songs came from feeling stuck and also like people were pulling me in a bunch of different directions,” Davis said about the album. “I wanted to say, ‘Just wait for me. I’ll figure it out.’”

Delivery is out 7/13 via Rounder Records. Check out Davis’ tour dates below.

05/04 — Cambridge, MA @The Sinclair
05/06 — Kingston, NY @ Ulster Performing Arts Center
05/08 — South Burlington, VT @ Higher Ground
05/09 — New Haven, CT @ College Street Music Hall
05/10 — Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Steel
05/12 — Philadelphia, PA @ The Fillmore
05/13 — Pittsburg, PA @ Mr. Smalls
05/15 — Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall
05/18 — Brighton, UK @ The Great Escape at One Church
05/22 — London, UK @ The Lexington
05/23 — Hollywood, CA @ Ford Theatres
05/24 — Anaheim, CA @ House of Blues
05/25 — San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore
05/29 — Vancouver, BC @ Commodore
05/30 — Seattle, WA @ Showbox at the Market
06/15 — Bergen, Norway @ Bergenfest Festival
06/16 — Oslo, Norway @ BLA
06/17 — Mannheim, Germany @ Maifeld Derby Festival

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