Temme Scott is here with her first single of 2024, “Softly,” featuring Jack Rabbit! In an interview with Atwood Magazine, Temme says, “the song is about being scared that you don’t love someone you’re with quite enough, even though you care about them deeply and wish you could.” The title “Softly” describes the hesitation in fully admitting something to someone. In this case, Temme doesn’t want to tell her partner that she’s losing her love for them. She even catches herself hoping she would dream of someone else in the first verse. Temme was scared she was thinking like this, “but not enough to stop the wishing.” She introduces a series of questions in the chorus, asking herself “what if I don’t love you in the morning?/if feelings change and there’s no warning” and wonders if they could already sense it. Temme admits at the end of the chorus that even if she tells her partner how she feels, she doesn’t want them to believe her. In the second verse, she sets the scene of the two of them sitting at a table, and Temme is “too unsure to say I love who.” She feels guilty for feeling this way, and wants her partner to be angry with her. Temme doesn’t want to be in a relationship with someone that she doesn’t love enough, and asks her partner to “not be too patient with [her].” Temme then delivers one of the most wondrously brutal lyrics in the song: “is silence still the killer if I never have to say,/‘I’m scared as hell that I’d be fine if you just walked away’?” In the bridge, she reiterates once again that if she ever says how she feels, she doesn’t want them to stop her.
“Softly” has a perfectly concocted production, filled with raw vocals and folk influences. It is truly a confessional put to music, and you can even hear the hurt and vulnerability that seeps through Temme’s vocals. Mainly, her vocals aren’t perfectly polished like in most songs today, which gives this song an even greater feeling of intimacy. She uses these echoing drums in the track that feel like crashing waves, and it comes to a helm in the bridge when it sounds like there are huge waves crashing over you. The harmonies that Temme created are angelic and ethereal, and it adds a new dimension to the track that wouldn’t have been there. Temme basically weaponizes her talent to be vulnerable and doesn’t shy away from her true feelings, which not only makes “Softly” a gut-wrenching track, but also sets her apart in the music scene today. Despite the song being so moody and heavy, it is truly a breath of fresh air compared to a lot of the music we hear today.
Temme Scott is an LA based singer-songwriter originally from Baltimore, Maryland. Although she didn’t grow up in a musical family, she had surrounded herself with music all on her own, becoming obsessed with the Wizard of Oz and singing “Maybe” from Annie any time she could. She took a couple guitar lessons leading up to middle school, and eventually started making covers on YouTube with her friend. Temme’s videos gained traction, and eventually found some success in a band called Say Chance. She was performing and touring at the same time she was in high school, but it soon became too much of a burden on her and her bandmates. They disbanded when she was 18, and she swore she’d never do music again. But after entering “Spring Sing” at UCLA as a junior, she developed an inclination to perform live again. This inclination only grew when she spent a semester abroad, and came back for her senior year with a renewed passion for music again. She released her first song in 2017, titled “Stop Saying Goodbye,” and released her first full length album, “Trust You, Trust You,” in 2020. At the same time, she was holding a residency with other musicians at Bootleg Theater. Her second album, “A Total Shame!” was released two years later in 2022. She then set out on a 25+ show tour all on her own, performing wherever and to whomever would listen. Temme is still involved in the LA music scene, hosting a house show series called Silverhouse Songs. Now, she’s got her third album underway, and it is sure to impress audiences just as all her previous works have done.
Written By Lauren DiGiovanni
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