THE ERICA REESE SHOW

Words & photos by Amiyah Golden

Bubbly and full of jubilance, Erica Reese instantly brightened up the dimly lit “Folio” studio with her presence – summoned by me – after I stumbled upon her Instagram, curated as such by her own handL the tiny squares filled with her memories and music. Her quirky feed and unapologetic portrayal intrigued me, but her music ultimately kept me.

A self-described “sad song songstress,” Reese makes music for the ones who empathize with experience — the good, the bad and the unfortunate of it all (life and love.)

Her journey to Jacksonville came with its own set of challenges, as acclimating to a new city is always intimidating.

“The first couple of years here were really lonely,” noted Reese. “I don’t know if it was because I was going to the wrong places or if it’s harder to find the creative people here from the outside.”

Not only was this an adjustment from her home state of Ohio, but it was also a stark contrast from her prior adventures from living in the Outback. Parallel to the experience of most of us – due to the global epidemic – her plans to wander Australia were cut short and in 2020, Reese joined her family in Atlantic Beach, Florida where she has planted her roots and explored her sound.

Thankfully her move caused her path to cross with Parker Dixon, the other half of her collaborative project, Coastal Creatures – a “Floridian indie pop” duo.

It was a benign connection that was contrary to some of the interactions Reese had experienced.

“With queer culture and anything that’s a little outside of the box, sometimes I feel like Jacksonville, as a society in general, can make you feel weird,” said Reese. “Once you find your bubble of people that think like you and have the same ideologies and morals as you, you’re safe in that bubble. But when you’re new here and you don’t know anyone and you don’t have that bubble… you’re just out here with hairy armpits telling people you make pop music and people are just like ‘who are you?’”

This didn’t stop the aching desire to create and share her music.

“I didn’t think this was plausible to actually do until my life got flipped around during COVID. I had been working on some music, and something just changed inside of me that was like, ‘If you don’t do this now, you’re never going to do it, and you might as well try.’”

Her leap of faith has worked in her favor as she has amassed her tribe of fellow creatives and budding friendships, as well as, producing music that speaks true to the current state of her artistry.

“How I [describe] my sound [now] I would’ve probably said something completely different one year ago or two years ago. The music doesn’t sound too different, but it’s just about homing in on what you want to be as an artist and finding that niche.”

Her self-proclaimed declaration as an artist that embodies a “dark pop” sound rings true to her present production and lyricism.

“I really love using the tonalities of pop music. I like the bright shimmery guitar sounds, and I really like the heavy synthesizers and dreamy sounds… but most of the context is a little more serious and a little more emotional than most pop,” she explained.

Reese took a moment to reflect on the maturation of her music.

“In the past it would be journal entry lyrics like, ‘f*ck this, everything sucks!” but now it’s… let’s ‘Lana Del Ray this sh*t,’” exclaimed Reese. “Like what soda are we drinking… what does our lip gloss taste like? I feel like right now I’m writing about things that happened years ago. but it’s a mix of new experiences and figuring out a way that I can paint the picture that I want with my words and using that more strategically than I have in the past.”

Artists such as Lana Del Ray do a great job at encapsulating that “dark pop” sound while embracing the art of illustrating the scenes of personal experience — whether that be about tragedy, heartbreak or sensuality.

While, on the topic of chanteuses, I inquired about Reese’s familiarity with singer Ethel Cain who delivers a congruent chilling sound enveloped in that indie-pop soundscape.

“I love Ethel Cain!!” Reese proclaimed. “I was feeling so uninspired for a minute, and I found her music and it was like a breath of fresh air. It’s haunting but it’s also dreamy. You can listen to American Teenager 100 times, and you’re like this is a pop banger and then you actually process what she’s saying and then you’re crying.”

The 1975 also serves as a big inspiration for Reese.

“Especially guitar wise, how I like the guitar sounds to be,” she said. “They have inspired that heavily.”

Chappel Roan, Courtney Barnett and The Japanese House also served as inspirations.

Her openness to various artists with differing sounds has molded her expanding dexterity.

She also has immense love for the locals that share their music – attributing found inspiration to a plethora of the acts in Jacksonville.

“I listen to local music just as much as I listen to anything else.”

Reese’s support doesn’t stop at simply “upping” their Spotify streams but also materializes as Lady Luck Presents, a “fem-centric collective” started by Reese and her friend Cassidy with the pair booking shows for mostly female and queer artists.

“I felt like there was a little discrepancy in the booking scene in Jacksonville,” she added.

Reese champions womanhood as she can attest to the discrimination that many face.

“I would love to produce music for other women. I think women are pushed out of that scene a lot because everyone is condescending,” said Reese. “If you need someone to explain something to you about technology — that is needed for production — instead of trying to help you half of the time, they’re trying to confuse you, so you just give up.”

That hasn’t halted Reese’s ambitions as the means to uplift the marginalized music scene has reconfirmed Reese’s belonging.

“We’ve been putting on these shows,” she said, “and I feel that’s what made my love for Jacksonville blossom and make me feel at home here.”

With Reese establishing her aims as a creative it has allowed her to produce some of her favorite songs thus far — “Breakfast for Dinner” and “Good Girls” — two songs she created with Patrick Taylor from the group Trash Panda.

“I’ve never worked with anyone so awesome in my life,” Reese added. “Pat is so talented and nice and patient which are not the qualities of many producers I know.”

‘“Breakfast for Dinner,” Reese said, highlights the reality of “hating your service industry job and questioning what you want to do with your life,” while ‘Good Girls’ is a little more scandalous. Both embodying a different sound — one with an ’80s pop sound and the other dark pop.

Reese — so sure of her sound and identity — is preparing to take listeners for a journey that is unalloyed.

To keep up with Erica Reese and her endeavors you can follow her through her social platforms at @theericareeseshow, @ladyluckpresents and @coastalcreatures.