Los Angeles duo CA in LA — Courtney Birk and Ashleigh Coffelt — have released “Waking Up,” a track that folds dream pop haze around indie rock bones, with alternative textures running through the arrangement. Birk handles keys, Coffelt anchors guitar, and together the pair builds a sound with a lived-in quality.
The single traces a path through self-preservation, catching its narrator mid-struggle with old patterns and destructive impulses before pulling her toward daylight.
The subject of healing sits at the centre of “Waking Up,” and the song moves toward its resolution through careful pacing. The verses stay hushed and coiled, while the choruses gradually open up and bring a stronger sense of release.
Production takes a cinematic direction, swelling with intention while leaving space between phrases. The changes in dynamics follow the changes in the lyric’s headspace, allowing the arrangement and the emotional development of the song to move together.
CA in LA formed back in 2013, and their music sits alongside a much wider creative practice spanning film, ceramics, painting, and woodburning.
That range also comes through in “Waking Up,” where texture and symbolism play an important role in the way the track develops.
