Whitney Mongé - Carry On (2018)

Whitney Mongé’s voice cracks, crumbles, aches and breaks your heart. It’s one made of 100-year-old salvaged northwest wood, complete with embossed grains, nicks, and honest imperfections. Often compared to the great Tracy Chapman, Seattle’s Mongé, though, is unique and stands sturdily on her own two musical feet. And never has this been more evident on her upcoming EP, the six-song Carry On, an intimate window into the artist’s songwriting, which is set to be released November 27th and 28th at Jazz Alley with co-headliner Naomi Wachira. To preview that release, we have the honor of premiering Mongé’s lead single from the new record, “Be Mine,” a romping, joyous tune about the excitement and confluence of new love and lust. And to accompany this premiere, we caught up with Mongé to ask her about her new album, what she’s learned since releasing her last record and how many takes it took to get the perfect vocal scream on tape.