Los Angeles-based Levi Petree’s music is a blend of flavors as rich and diverse as the Louisiana bayou in which he was raised. From British punk to outlaw country, he covers all kinds of bases, a fact evident on his new album, It’s Country, set for release on March 3rd.
The first song recorded for the album, “Lover’s Cove,” is a contemplative journey born from unexpected inspiration. “I’m one of those people who will turn their birthday celebration into a week-long affair, always has to be some sort of adventure. A couple years ago, I decided to spend the day taking advantage of every free thing that businesses offer you on your birthday,” he recalls. “Free breakfast at Denny’s (AND IHOP!), free coffee at Starbucks, ice cream at Baskin Robbins, etc. In Southern California, you can also take advantage of a free trip to Catalina Island on your birthday. Once you’re there, you’re like a kid on Pleasure Island. Free mini-golf, free bowling, free snorkeling, and the best part…free burritos. I walked around the island all day, nodding my head in acknowledgment at fellow ‘Birthday Ribbon’ wearers. By the end of the day, though, spending my birthday alone caught up with me and it didn’t feel that great,” he continues. “I started walking in the opposite direction from town. I’d wanted to get away from people and embrace the loneliness I’d foolishly thrown myself into. About half a mile down the unpaved road, I came across a rocky area called ‘Lover’s Cove.’ Seemed like a nice place to sit down and put a little dream to paper.”
The sound of crashing waves and crowd noise captured on Petree’s iPhone brings ambience to the early-Elvis-style ballad. “I thought it was important to add romantic instrumentation you’d hear in a sea-side town late at night,” he recalls. “To me, this song is about the vulnerability of contentment. Like waking up next to someone you know you’re in love with, but you haven’t said anything yet. Maybe you’re afraid to say it, or maybe you just wanna hold on to how full it makes you feel. But you know. For sure you know.”
“If this one ends up resonating with people, then I hope they’re also in a position where they can share an experience to it with someone they care about, that’s the vision I have any time I listen to it,” he adds. “A simple life, where it’s just you, me, and whatever we bring into it. A little house near the water, a Sunday night drive after a long weekend, making love in the rain, falling asleep under the stars, or a lullaby for the family of three you’ve just become. It’s saying, ‘Ya know, maybe I’ll try to get this right the first time.’”
Without further ado, Mother Church Pew proudly premieres “Lover’s Cove” by Levi Petree:
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