Between the global pandemic, the heated presidential election, the intensified calls for racial justice and the overall air of “unprecedented,” 2020 saw a lot happen. While most people were hunkering down and staying home, some people—like singer, songwriter and Black Taxi frontman, Ezra Huleatt—decided to go out into the world and see the sights for themselves.
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In Huleatt’s case, this cultural safari took the form of a Steinbeck-esque road-trip across America. Making his way through the wooded landscapes and mountain ranges of the eastern portion of the country, Huleatt reflected deeply on his life and the turbulent events happening around him. Channeling these reflections into music, he ultimately created a new batch of songs for his solo project, iEzra. On February 18, Huelatt dropped “Just A Little More,” the first single for this forthcoming album, The Underlying Condition.
“I wrote this song on a long road trip into the North,” Huleatt told American Songwriter. “The first voice-memos hail from various spots between Atlanta and a small Adirondack motel. I write most songs fast, but ‘Just a Little More’ aged slowly, in the dust of optimism, unemployment checks, and gas station coffee. I then demoed-out the initial song sketches and emailed those to friends for feedback before putting the album together in Milwaukee last fall.”
With a playful, gritty vibe, “Just A Little More” is reminiscent of the same dancey indie style that Black Taxi has become known for. With hints of Panic! At The Disco and traditional American styles, the song retains its fun atmosphere even while addressing some of the heavier topics that Huleatt became familiar with while traveling the country.
“Musically, this song is built for running (in rain storms),” Huleatt commented. “I want people to shoot some whisky and then run to this tune, especially when the horn lick kicks in on the chorus. It has a great tempo to lean hard into and the beat is all swagger. On a lyrical level, people can look at this micro-story of attempted repentance and deranged capitalism and translate it to their macro: our dystopia of a world is flaming right now with humanity an unhinged caravan. We are all carnies armed with differing sets of facts and hellbent on getting our share, staggering in the cesspool we have made for ourselves. But, we still have the power (barely) to control things, dictate our future. What’s it gonna be? We really can’t ignore the shape we are in anymore.”
Watch the lyric video for “Just A Little More” by iEzra below:
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