“What if?” is probably the most human question we ask ourselves. It’s so easy to get caught in a spiral while you overthink how a situation may have turned out if you did one thing differently, but at the end of the day there is nothing you can do as we aren’t time travelers. But at the same time, it’s normal to question it as we are filled with intrigue from a young age. Exploring those in-depth what if’s, Los Angeles based artist Katelyn Tarver has written the otherthinking anthem of 2023, “Parallel Universe”. Imagining if you were able to see yourself in a parallel universe where you chose a different path, she questions how things may have turned out. “Did you get rich and famous from that part that I turned down? Did you have a couple kids and did you stay in our hometown? Did you sleep with lots of people, try cocaine on your 21st. Are you happy, is it better, is it worse, in a parallel universe” she sings. 

The honest anthem is her fourth single this year as she starts preparing the release of her highly anticipated sophomore record, which is slated for early 2024. Each song so far hears her posing questions upon herself and the universe as she moves into a new chapter of her life. Joining “Cinematic”, “Starting To Scare Me”, and “What Makes A LIfe Good?”, “Parallel Universe” gives you an insight into her inner monologue as she processes her 2021 debut album “Subject To Change”, and focuses on moments of acceptance and growth. Led by an acoustic guitar, this song authentically builds with piano, light pop production and beautiful harmonies. She allows the songwriting to take centre-stage, and you will immediately find yourself entranced. 

I sat down with Katelyn Tarver over zoom to discuss what this new chapter means to her as an artist. We discussed the very real “what ifs” she questions in “Parallel Universe”, explored the astrological connections between these new songs, and pondered on what she’s learnt after releasing “Subject To Change”. Read the full chat BELOW:

THOMAS BLEACH: Your songwriting is very poignant, honest, and ultimately relatable. And “Parallel Universe” is one of the most interesting songs I have heard all year lyrically. The concept is all about “what if”, and the different paths you could’ve taken, and where you may be if you had. So where were you physically and mentally when you had this concept, and the slight manic ideology of “what if”?

KATELYN TARVER: I feel like mentally with all of these new songs, especially “Parallel Universe”, I’m just allowing myself to ponder a lot of things. It felt like it came from a really human place of wondering what something would have been like if I had done one thing different. As we get older, you like hit phases of life where you have history to look back on and be like, “Oh, wow.” Like I can kind of see how the last 10 years have played out, and it’s a very real thing to question, “am I good with how they’ve played out?”. I was in a place of taking account of my life and where I’ve been and where I want to go. 

I wrote it with my friend, Delacey. I really admire them as a songwriter, and we had been meaning to get into the studio together for a long time. I was in the middle of a bunch of touring where I would go out on the road and then come home and be like “okay, I got to get some songs written”, and then I would leave again. It was sort of a weird switch to keep making where I was on the road and singing these songs from my last album, and then I’d head home and need to figure out what I’m writing about next. It was weird. 

Delacey is kind of around my age, like early thirties, and we were talking about how it’s that kind of time in life where you have this sense that you’ve got some things figured out, but also there’s still a load of things that you’re processing. In that session I was talking about the things I wondered about from my past. For example, In my early 20s, I turned down an acting role to do my record deal. And the show I turned down, ended up being a huge hit show. And my record deal was great, but it wasn’t what I thought it was gonna be. 

I grew up in the south in a pretty religious setting, and so I had these beliefs that were pretty rigid. And then you move to a big city and you meet all the different kinds of people and you start questioning those beliefs, and you start wondering how they affected your behaviour. Did I miss out on these really formative things that normal people did? Would I have been different if I did them? 

But you get to that place ultimately where you realise you can’t know what would have happened. Had you done this or that you wouldn’t be who you are today, and for better or worse.

TB: “Are you happy? Is it better? Is it worse?” captures the raw intrigue behind this track, because ultimately there is no answer, and we will never really know. But it is so interesting to question what if one thing happened differently. What is one of your favourite situations you ponder in the song?

KT:  I guess the one about the role I turned down is one of the most obvious ones. It’s rare that you get to see something play out. But with the role I got to really see how that played out exactly. When I would go there in my mind I realised that my life would have 100% looked totally different. Having such a tangible version of it is so interesting. There are moments when I’m frustrated with where I’m at and think that things could’ve gone differently than I had hoped, and it’s easy for me to be like, “I should have done that” during those moments.  

TB: Sonically it reminds me a lot of Sasha Alex Sloan. What were some of the references you had for this song?

KT: Sasha’s a big one for me vibe wise. I love her music and her artistry. I’m just a big fan of hers. So she was probably a reference. I mean, I don’t know that I had a lot of direct references for the song. I think when we first wrote it, the guitar was very similar to what it is in the final version. I really couldn’t let that go. There was just something about the way the guitar felt to me. It was so emotional and evocative in such a reflective way. With my music I don’t ever want the production to overtake the lyric, the melody, and the feeling of the song. I think I’m lucky to work with producers who are down to let that be the focal point of the song and then find ways to support that in the track. 

I think I like that it isn’t just guitar and vocal, but it doesn’t necessarily feel like it gets to this big, overly produced place. I feel like every part of it is intentional. I like the way that it gradually grew sonically as well.

TB: I now want to chat about “Cinematic”. It would be easy for me to say it’s a very cinematic track, and honestly it’s true. But it’s also very introspective, personal, and universally relatable, especially for me as a pisces, as you are a scorpio and as star signs we are very similar. With a song like this do you think about astrology and personality traits while writing?  

KT: You know, it’s funny you say that. I’m not a huge astrology person, but I’m not anti it. In the past few years I’ve looked into it more because I live in LA and it’s very easy to happen upon it. The reaction I get every time I say I’m a Scorpio, people are like, “Oh, that makes sense”. And I’m like, “what do you guys mean? What am I missing here?”. And so obviously I look into it, and I think it’s been funny to almost kind of own that side of me a little bit more and be like, “yeah, okay, I’m a Scorpio.” I’m very emotional, and I’m very passionate and I am trying to embrace those parts of myself more and more and be who I am. I think with “Cinematic”, it’s kind of a celebration of that those parts of me, where maybe I can lean too much into my nostalgic lens or wanting every moment to be meaningful and memorable.

TB:“Pass that diner on the drive home. It closed down and we both still miss it. But you make fun of the way I romanticize a restaurant” and “I get so sentimental over small things” is so me coded, as I romanticise the most random things and moments possible. What is one of the most random things you’ve romanticised over recently?

KT: I just got back from being home for a week, and going to this house that I went to in my childhood, so I’m feeling that type of sentimental right now. But the romanticising restaurant thing is also very me coded *laughs*. I’ve been living in LA for over ten years, so when things close down that were there when I first moved, it’s so heartbreaking because you’re like “No,  that’s the diner we went to when…” and “we had that dessert that night that…” and now that’s not there anymore. I can get so sad about all these things that change. I think it’s hard to be a tender hearted person that gets so sad when things change because in life everything’s changing all the time. And especially here in LA, it’s like, if you have a restaurant you love then try not to get too attached because it’ll probably shut down or they’ll take away your favorite menu. 

I had a restaurant I love going to here and they had carne asada fries, and they’re SO good. One night we were like “okay let’s go get the fries, I need them”. And we got there, and I ordered them as a side and they were like, “oh sorry, we have a new chef and they aren’t making those”. And I was just like, “what?!”. I couldn’t hide my anger *laughs*. I was like, “can I talk to the chef because that doesn’t make any sense to me. He should know that people come here for the fries. I don’t know if we’ll ever be back now”. My husband was like “Kaitlyn, calm down, it’s fine” *laughs*. I just fully freaked out. I was like, “maybe I need to look into this”. I just want my fries, you know? So I don’t know. I’m realizing there’s a theme here. It’s always food *laughs*. 

TB: I read that you were sonically inspired by Allison Ponthier with this song, and I personally love her songwriting and her dreamy production. So what was it about Allion Ponthier and her song “Hardcore” that you loved and inspired you with this idea you had?

KT: What I loved about Alison’s song was that she just included little snippets of her life in her songwriting. And there was something that really hit this part of my brain that was like “oh, I love that”. I love all these seemingly random details thrown into a song, and then the chorus being like, “it’s hard being hardcore”. And then it’s like, “if you’re not feeling, what the hell is a heart for”. I think that line really hit me too. And we were just kind of in the studio and like, “yeah, the point of life is to feel”. That’s such a Scorpio thing to say. I’m back! *laughs*. But literally, what is it all for if it’s not to just feel everything in life that you can, and feel the pain and the joy? I wanted to write a song like that, so we wrote “Cinematic”, and now I do. 

TB: Now let’s move onto “Starting To Scare Me”. The lyric “I’d rip out my heart to feel it. Cause feeling something’s better than nothing. Even if it kills me”  – I feel like this is a pinnacle Katelyn Tarver lyric with its mix of vulnerability and vivid identity. Do you remember writing this line?

KT: It absolutely is pinnacle Katelyn Tarver *laughs*. “Starting To Scare Me” is maybe me at my truest form as a scorpio *laughs*. I wrote it with Riley Biederer who I wrote “Cinematic” with. At the time I was just feeling kind of edgy, feeling kind of raw, feeling kind of angry, and just wanting to express all of that in a song. 

I think a lot of this new music is very contemplative and reflective with me asking “what is life?”, “what does it mean?”, “what do I want?”. It’s very real and honest, and I wanted to highlight some of the pain and fear that can come along with that too. 

TB: Do you see correlations thematically and production wise between “Staring To Scare Me” and “Cinematic? As they both kind of feel like siblings, and feel like they’ve learnt something from each other?

KT:  That’s really interesting. I’ve never thought of it like that, but I definitely see it now. I’m writing about all these different parts of my brain, but it’s all kind of coming from a similar place of reflection.

TB: “What Makes A Life Good?” kicked off 2023 for yourself, and I’ve realised with all these songs that you are asking questions and pondering things back to the universe. Is this a theme going into the next record?

KT: I definitely think it’s a theme as I wanted the album to capture the part of life I was currently in. As I’ve already said, I’m not an astrology girl but I was actually looking into my Saturn return as I was hitting my late 20’s and early 30’s. It’s essentially this idea that everything you’ve sort of depended on in life thus far starts to be sort of ripped away. Sometimes it’s subtle and sometimes it’s drastic. For me it made me realise I needed to dig into what I value, and what I want my life to look like, and who I want to be. 

I’ve been in this industry a long time, and I’ve been in LA since I was younger, so there’s so much that’s gone on in my life. During the last album process I started therapy, and I’ve continued going since. When you’re going to speak to a therapist weekly it’s just natural to look into your past and what got you to where you are. I think I’ve just been on that journey, so I think it’s pretty natural for my music to reflect that as all my songs are asking a lot of questions because I’ve been asking myself a lot of questions, I’ve been asking the universe a lot of questions, and I’ve been asking others a lot of questions. I think I’ve been doing it in this attempt to be like “how do you do it?” How is it that we all do it so differently?”.

Sometimes I can get insecure because I’m like, “am I the only one that’s sitting over here being like, what’s real dude?” I don’t think that I am, but yeah, I don’t know. With my last album I was sort of dipping a toe into writing more about my inner world and the response I got from fans and just being out on the road and singing the songs was so meaningful. It’s helped solidify the kind of artist I want to be, as well as the music I want to be making. So, I really went into this next album with that in mind and wanting to keep voicing things for people that help them feel more seen. And so if I’m going through it and if I’m asking these questions then there are probably other people too, and hopefully when they hear it and feel heard.

TB: I feel like we just touched a bit on it, but your debut album “Subject To Change” has been out for two years now. So when you listen back to it and reflect on it as a body of work, what would you say is the biggest thing you learnt about yourself as an artist that has impacted this next chapter?

KT: I think the difference, unfortunately, was that I put a lot of pressure on myself to level up. I thought I had to go bigger and be more honest. And not that it’s wrong, but it paralyzed me a little bit because I was questioning whether it was gonna be the same and if people were gonna react the same way. It’s scary to be a writer, and it’s scary to be an artist, and to put yourself out there.

I got kind of in my head, but that being said, I was able to push through that and it made me want to write songs that kind of reflect human nature in a sense of like, it’s not so tidy and It’s not always fun. There are ups and downs and highs and lows.

I will say that with this album, heavy existential dread is on there, but there are also some moments of acceptance and moments of growth that weren’t as much on “Subject to Change”. I really wanted to show the process of growing, and changing, and dealing with stuff, but also show parts where you do get to the other side and you’re like, “okay, I did learn something by asking a million questions. I wasn’t just spinning my wheels”. I think it’s important to self-reflect. 

TB: From finally getting to be able to tour it in the US and see your fans connect with the songs in the live space, did any of your relationships with the songs change or evolve? 

KT: I feel like there were a few. A lot of people came up to me about “Out Of Excuses”, which was very unexpected. Another one was “Nicer”. It was really cool to get to go sing these songs live and then talk to people after. Any time someone takes the time to share a story with me about what a lyric means to them is just the nicest thing ever. So if you’re a fan and you’re reading this, let this be a sign to tell artists how you feel because we’re all little insecure needy babies that need reassurance *laughs*. I need to know that you’re also relating to my Scorpio feelings *laughs*.

TB: We really need to finally get you here to Australia though, don’t we!

KT: Seriously, it needs to happen! I think within the next year it’s going to happen. It’s been too long. I need to get over there!

“Parallel Universe” is out now!