Reeya Banerjee’s sophomore album, “This Place“, opens not with a bang, but with the quiet hum of a car engine.
It’s a fitting start for a record that is, in many ways, about movement.
Not just the physical act of moving from one city to another, but the internal shifts that happen when we leave a piece of ourselves behind and search for a new sense of home.
The album, co-written and produced with Luke Folger, is a collection of nine songs that trace a decade of Banerjee’s life, with each track tied to a specific location.
The idea itself could seem like a cheap trick, but Banerjee uses it to build a strong story that is both personal and universal.
“Misery of Place,” is a raw, driving rock song that sets the tone for what’s to come. The guitars are sharp and angular, and Banerjee’s voice is a force of nature, full of a righteous anger that is both startling and cathartic.
There is a strong message in the song about how our past can haunt us and how we need to leave the places that have hurt us behind. In the best way possible, the song hits you right in the gut.
From there, the album takes us on a winding road through Banerjee’s past. “For the First Time” is a shimmering, hopeful song about the thrill of new love and new beginnings.
“Runner” is a propulsive, post-grunge anthem about the need to keep moving forward, even when it feels like you’re running on fumes. And then there’s “Upstate Rust,” the album’s breakout hit, a soaring power-pop anthem about the difficult decision to leave a place you love in order to build a new life.
Over 226,000 people have watched the music video for this song on YouTube, which shows how powerful it is. The song makes me feel like I am getting a warm hug and a shot of energy at the same time.
Throughout “This Place“, Banerjee’s songwriting is sharp and specific, full of the kinds of small, telling details that make a story come alive. She has a gift for crafting melodies that are both instantly memorable and emotionally complex.
There is something amazing about her voice; it can be soft and vulnerable or strong and commanding. Like Bruce Springsteen and Alanis Morissette, she tells stories through music, but her sound is all her own.
“This Place” is a record about the search for home, both in the physical and the emotional sense. It’s about the people and places that shape us, and the difficult, necessary work of building a life on our own terms.
It’s a record that is full of heartbreak and hope, anger and forgiveness, and a deep, abiding love for the messy, beautiful, and complicated business of being alive.
It’s a record that will stay with you long after the last note has faded.
