LINNEA draws a winning hand on “Playing Cards”

LINNEA is an LA artist whose music often has echoes of Julia Jacklin and Phoebe Bridgers. However, her new single “Playing Cards” has a stately melody that reminds me of the best of Harry Nilsson (and those Liverpool lads he used to hang out with).

“‘Playing Cards’ is a song about forgiveness,” says LINNEA. “I wrote it a few years ago while I was briefly living in London, healing from what I’d consider to be my first true heartbreak and navigating a new city completely on my own. The lyrics are raw and unfiltered so we tried to convey that same feeling sonically. Not playing to a click allowed the song to have a more organic energy, almost like playing live with a band. This song is so special to me and I hope it resonates with people.”

Musically, the new song is miles away from LINNEA’s previous single “Lone Star Motel”, which had an Emmylou Harris / Lucinda Williams vibe. Hearing “Playing Cards” is like drawing four aces in a poker game – an exhilarating surprise.

Listen to “Playing Cards” below, or find it on the streaming platforms.

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Larry McClain has worked for ad agencies and magazines in NYC and L.A. and now resides in Nashville. He was TIME magazine's Person of the Year in 2006. (Look it up...it's true!)