Indie Rock

this is my first single taken from my sophomore record "softcore mourn" out july 16th, it's a breakup song i think.

car freshener aftershave

Olivia Wendel originally wrote “Portland” in 2018, pre-pandemic while riding the 1 train home from her restaurant job. During the shift, a customer asked her if she’d ever been to Portland Oregon, somewhere they thought she would really enjoy. This song was her response to that conversation and the feeling of wanderlust she felt while watching the sun go down over the Hudson River as the 1 approached 125th street. Now in 2021, as New York City begins to emerge out of quarantine, the song resonates completely differently for Olivia. It’s a song that finds beauty in the places we call home, while longing for the possibility of traveling and getting lost in a new places. Recorded last summer almost entirely remotely, producer Jeff Peters and Olivia worked to achieve a production that is buoyant and hopeful, while allowing the melody line to wander around and explore.

Portland

The Best I Could Do at the Time

Sail Away (Acoustic)

So Much To Learn

only the beginning

all of the things you said

too close


At its core, the song explores the ache of loving someone while time slowly changes both of you. It’s about looking back on youth, shared adventures, and intimate memories with a softness that hurts. The narrator feels the weight of growing older—how small things like clothes, photos, and old habits carry emotional echoes. As the years pass, the relationship becomes more fragile, and moments that once felt effortless now feel distant or threatened. The song sits in that tender space where love still exists, but the connection is slipping, and both people can feel it.

Despite the heartbreak, the song isn’t hopeless. It’s filled with longing and a quiet, stubborn tenderness. The narrator clings to the idea that love might still be recoverable if they can just hold on a little longer—if the other person doesn’t “fade” tonight. The song captures that deeply human moment where you’re caught between acceptance and yearning: wanting to preserve what once was, fearing what might be lost, and hoping that shared memories and old warmth are enough to pull two hearts back together. It’s a sad, cinematic reflection on love, time, and the emotional distance that grows when people change but still desperately want to stay connected.

Not Like This - Farida Daydream Edit

The Way You'd Love Her

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No Tell

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Smoke & Jackal - "No Tell"

The Slow Rush

It Might Be Time

All songs written, performed, arranged & co-produced by JJ Draper
All songs produced, recorded, engineered & mixed by Joey Walker
Additional mixing and engineering by Shaun Duncan & Barny Peplow
String arrangements by Ben Rowarth

Vocals - JJ Draper
Additional vocals - Crosby Stewart
Guitars - JJ Draper, Lorenzo Calvo and Joey Walker
Piano, keyboard, synths - Alex Knight, JJ Draper & Joey Walker
Bass guitar/ Bass Synth - Bobek Markiewicz
Dobro by Paul Walker 
Drums and Percussion - Joey Walker
Saxophone by Phil Gale
Trumpet by Joe Davies
Cello in "in hell, at home" by Samuel Rowe

String Quartet - 
1st Violin - Ana Vandepeer
2nd Violin - Martin Ash
Viola - Abby Bowen
Violincello - Ruby Grace

...if you're awake in the night

Breakdown

Helpless

Pull It From My Teeth

I’m drifting away
And my mind is in a daze
Oh my dreams are all awake
I feel fine again
And I’m fallin’ alone
Where my heart’s my only home
Oh I’ll drift out on my own
I’m alright again

I wish you only told me once
Kid you gotta hide your teeth
You gotta hold your tongue 
You gotta wait for the mornin’ sun
And think on the younger days
I know you only held my hand
‘Til I was three
And when I turned 18 you cut my leash
Told me I’d be fine when I get older

I’m drifting away
And my mind is in a daze
Oh my dreams are all awake
I feel fine again
And I’m fallin’ alone
Where my heart’s my only home
Oh I’ll drift out on my own
I’m alright again

Oh I gotta hold my post
Before I slip into the violent road 
And throws me in
To the wild I hope 
I find the light again
Now you gotta let me off
You know you let the meter run
Oh stop and let me crawl
Before you pick me up
I’m learnin’ the right-away 

I’m drifting away
And my mind is in a daze
Oh my dreams are all awake
I feel fine again
And I’m fallin’ alone
Where my heart’s my only home
Oh I’ll drift out on my own
I’m alright again

I’m drifting away
Oh my life is in a haze
But my dreams are now awake
I feel fine again
And I’m fallin’ alone
Where my heart’s my only home
Oh I’ll drift out on my own
I’m alright again
I’m alright again
I’m alright again
I’m alright again

Breakdown

Berlue

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