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Nov 22, 2023 By Caleb Campbell

Last year, Brooklyn-based indie singer/songwriter Katy Rea debuted with her first full-length album, The Urge That Saves You, offering up a record full of darkly layered psychedelia and rippling live instrumentation. Following the album’s release Rea returned this year, sharing new singles from her forthcoming covers and demos LP, Make Your World! She has already shared the titular demo, along with covers of Leonard Cohen’s “Death of a Ladies Man,” Linda Ronstadt’s “Try Me Again,” and Hovvdy’s “Blindsided.”

As Rea describes, “Make Your World! Covers & Demos Pt. 1 was a chance for me to fully embrace self-recording and mixing, open myself to experimentation with strange sounds, and adjust to being less precious creatively—all in preparation for recording my second album of originals. I chose covers that remind me of growing up in Texas (my mom even sings on “Try Me Again”). Each song, to me, is timeless, subtly capturing an eerie political feeling that I find comforting. Although this project deviates from my current band’s sound, it has largely informed my creative process. I’ve treated each song like it’s my own, so they differ greatly from their original recordings.”

The full album is out next week, but ahead of the record’s release, Rea is sharing one last teaser with her cover of Pete Seeger’s “The Hammer Song,” premiering with Under the Radar.

“The Hammer Song” reimagines one of Seeger’s many ramshackle protest touchstones into magnetic indie singer/songwriter fare. Rea sings the track with a glassy, refined touch, bolstered by lush backing vocals and stately acoustic strumming. Meanwhile, gossamer traces of guitar and keys move in and out of the track’s shadows, punctuating Rea’s vocals with starry bursts of melody. By the track’s end, it fully transforms into a bleary dance of iridescent instrumentation and dreamy vocal harmonies, closing on a ghostly and beautiful note.

Rea says of the track, “‘The Hammer Song’ by Pete Seeger is the first song I remember singing. My mom would sing it to me as a baby and I would mimic her, soon learning to harmonize. It’s a song that soothes me still, reminding me of the importance of family and community. I have a habit of isolating myself, especially when I’m deep in the songwriting process. The melody of this song often pops in my head - telling me to call home, see friends, get out of the self. I believe sharing songs is about unifying people and helping us to remember how similar we are. Seeger provided the hopeful American protest song - which I think is lacking now and I’d like to learn how to write. My strange cover may have him rolling in his grave but I’m grateful for his song - it lives within me.”

Check out the song below. Make Your World! Covers & Demos Pt. 1 is out on December 1st.