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Meels is ready to take listeners across the Raccoon Strait.
The California-raised singer-songwriter, who recently signed to Nashville-based Lost Highway Records, has finally released her EP, Across the Raccoon Strait, and it lives up to every golden-tinged, tube television-coded vision of 1960s-70s Americana that one could conceivably hope for.
Meels, whose real name is Amelia Einhorn, tells PEOPLE that the catchy moniker “has been my nickname for my entire life,” so utilizing it for her music career was natural.
“My twin sister actually started calling me Meels way back when we were kids,” she shares. “When I was thinking, ‘Do I want to be Amelia Einhorn going into this artist thing or Meels?’ I was like, ‘That just feels so natural.’ ”
Jim Hughes
Growing up in a home where “grandma played Peter, Paul and Mary,” as she recalls, Meels was exposed to roots, folk and Americana from an early age. She specifically cites Back Home Again by John Denver as “a huge defining record for me” that still influences her sonics approach today.
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Though piano called to her from a tender age (5, to be exact), Meels never allowed her palate to be defined by a singular creative route. After landing a song placement on Grown-ish and while attending New York University’s Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music, with the help of her romantic and creative partner, Henry Pakenham, she began to formulate the genesis of what has manifested into Meels today.
Diving into the world of Meels head-first is the only way to go about it, and Across the Raccoon Strait offers a concise look at the mind of the budding artist, with tender vulnerabilities layered throughout catchy, carnival-esque soundbites and cheery riffs she has eloquently labeled as “critter country.”
“I love to use metaphor in a cheeky, fun way to make whatever I’m going through a little more digestible,” Meels says. “Maybe it makes it more digestible for others, too.”
The juxtaposition of upbeat melodies and tough lyrical content is precisely what makes Across the Raccoon Strait such a compelling body of work. She recalls a college mentor sharing, ” ‘It just feels like you’re writing happily about the end of the world, like they do in fairy tales.’ ”
“This record is kind of about a homecoming, like coming back to California, and going back to my roots with folk music,” Meels highlights. “And the raccoon kind of represents that for me. Because in Mill Valley, I’m here right now, we’re constantly finding raccoons climbing up the redwoods … in our trash cans. The raccoon was my elementary school mascot! It’s always just been one of my favorite animals.”
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Across its seven tracks, Meels takes listeners on a journey that ends in “an arrival to a place that feels like home,” Mill Valley, Calif. Starting with a gallop across sweeping desert plains in “Out West,” a song she claims “came ripping out” of her that was informed by her wish to leave New York’s concrete jungle and return to her western home.
Through its other tracks, Meels continues to weave an emotional tapestry that challenges tough topics like OCD and facing “the death of my childhood and my childhood friendships” head-on.
Universal Music
Meels touts that “just being able to connect with the audience in that way,” via resonant lyrics, has quickly become a hallmark of her sound. “Even if there’s one person that raises their hand, it’s like, ‘Okay, they know that they’re not alone.’ And I say, ‘This song’s for you.’ ”
The singer is already experiencing an influx of viral success thanks to her infectious melodies and ethereal stage persona, crafted with the intention of evoking feelings of a mid-20th-century variety performer. On top of that, she has enjoyed cosigns from the likes of Margo Price, Molly Tuttle, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and more. The quickly-mounting accolades aside, Meels is intent on not letting it all get to her head and continuing to further her vision as an artist.
“I’m about to go in and start working on my debut record, a full-length record,” Meels teases. “I made [Across the Raccoon Strait] a year ago, and I’ve been writing so much, and I just feel myself getting better and better.”
She adds, “This record is shaping up to be, I think, something really special, and kind of delving into newer sounds too. Paul McCartney is the No. 1 inspiration in my life as a songwriter … as a producer. And so I would say there’s maybe some Paul-esque stuff coming down the pipeline.”
Across the Raccoon Strait is available on all major streaming platforms now.
