Relationships can be tricky. So many conflicting emotions. So many competing motivations, both acknowledged and unseen. Who can make sense of human behavior? After all, there’s definitely, definitely, definitely no logic, right? On new single “capital R,” Kim Ware pulls back the curtain and exposes the tangled knot of contradictions and thorny rationales that often drive our decision-making. “I don’t wanna be here / But you’re so inviting / And this time I think I might stay,” she sings on the softly glowing chorus. Couched in warm hooks and moody atmospherics, it brims with the candid poetics that has informed the Good Graces’ songwriting for well over a decade.

“I’ve always tried to make my songs a very honest reflection of who I am,” Ware says. “But what part of life fits neatly in a box? Life is not a simple thing. So I often end up writing about that non-simplicity.”

After living in Atlanta for sixteen years, Ware recently moved back to her family’s farm in Kings Mountain, North Carolina. The transition has helped her connect to her past and deepen her appreciation of home. Since then, she’s been working with NC engineer/producer Jerry Kee (Superchunk, Archers of Loaf, Polvo) on the Good Graces’ forthcoming sixth full length.

“Capital R” is the first taste of that collaboration and it finds Ware embracing a more rock-centric sound. There are shades of folk-leaning Americana, of course, and the billowing synths help coat the track in a dreamy shimmer. But the driving force remains Ware’s knack for marrying tasteful melodies to piercing observations. Here, it’s the daunting realization that despite someone’s flaws—their domineering attitude and “half-assed optimism”— there is an intractable attraction that can’t be ignored. Why? Who’s to say. Simple truths can be hard to come by. But maybe, just maybe, we like it that way.

Stream the single and lyric video above.

“capital R” releases this Fri., Aug. 27. Pre-orders are available here.

The Good Graces will perform on Sat., Aug. 28 at the EARL alongside the Preakness and Ben Trickey (full band). Doors open at 8 p.m. Admission is $12 in advance or $15 DOS. 21+ to enter. Proof of vaccination or negative COVID test required. Mask up, y’all.

More Info
Web: thegoodgraces.org
Bandcamp: thegoodgraces.bandcamp.com
Facebook: @thegoodgraces
SoundCloud: @thegoodgraces
Tumblr: thegoodgraces.tumblr.com
Twitter: @theGoodGraces