Chelsea Cutler with special guests, Adam Melchor and Rosie
April 1, 2022
The Sylvee in Madison
Chelsea Cutler
Born in Westport, Connecticut, Chelseaâs musical inclination happened at a young age. Tinkering with instruments as a child led to releasing her own material as a student at Amherst College right from her bedroom. From there came her debut EP Snow In October, which further propelled Chelsea into a whole new stratosphere. A chance meeting with fellow singer/songwriter Jeremy Zucker led to brent, which went from a passion project amongst friends to a critically acclaimed collaboration.
How To Be Human is a long time coming, at least for Chelsea. âThere are songs on there that I wrote so long ago and by long I mean like a year,â she says with a laugh. âThat feels really long for an artist who writes a song and then immediately wants to release it.â
The project is a collection of songs that touch on both human emotions and the human psyche, derived from an epiphany that Chelsea had while on tour. âI was in a hotel room on tour last fall, my first headlining tour, and I just remember that hook idea like I donât know how to be human,â she explains of the albumâs title track. âThat was the phrase that was stuck in my head. I think it wasnât anything more than me being an existential 21-year-old literally saying to myself, âthis human thing is weird.â So I wrote that song and it became the overarching theme of the album.â It happened organically. âWhen youâre in your early 20s and probably for the rest of our lives, I guess, we kind of just like say, âI donât know what is happening.ââ
The album runs the gamut of thoughtful subjects from love, to heartache, and even Chelseaâs favorite subject: impermanence, allowing things to come and go in life. âImpermanence is probably my favorite theme Iâve written about,â she adds. Having produced a majority of the project herself, Chelsea has crafted a masterpiece that not only speaks to her knack for making music that speaks directly to her fans, but has also evolved her as well-rounded artist. The projectâs lead single, âSad Tonight,â produced with renowned creative team Captain Cuts, is perhaps one of the most dynamic examples of this, as Chelsea pushes her own limits as a full-fledged pop star. âThis is one of the more poppier songs that Iâve ever written,â Chelsea says, âwhere I said to my team, âthis is the one.ââ The theme touches many, as the hook is a plea to just be sad tonight. âThe universal sentiment is that when youâre trying to get over somebody or a relationship, you try to throw yourself into everything you can to be distracted and fill a void,â she expresses, âbut youâre miserable doing it, when in reality you want to be at home eating ice cream and crying while watching Netflix.â
Other songs like the poignant ânjâ reflect deeply woven sounds and lyrics with the focus of love. âItâs my favorite song Iâve ever written in my entire life,â Chelsea continues. âI wrote that at like 4am in Europe on tour. Instrumentally and lyrically Iâve never made anything like it. Iâve never been more proud of something in my life.â
A February tour will welcome the release of How To Be Human, as Chelsea Cutler has leveled up and is just getting started. With two sold out shows at New York Cityâs famed Terminal 5 and Bostonâs House of Blues, plus a long-awaited appearance at Coachella 2020 this spring, Chelsea is ready to tell her story on wax and on stage. âPutting out a full-length album meant I could tell a story in a more raw and authentic way than I ever have before,â she advises. âI raised the stakes for myself and wanted this to be a full body of work, where I now feel like Iâve reached a new level of artistry.â