TENDER POP CREATOR ZACHARY KNOWLES SHARES NEW SINGLE & VIDEO “CARPOOL” OUT NOW VIA FADER LABEL
“Knowles’ emotional, nostalgic longings are universally felt, and are sure to tug on your heartstrings. At the same time, his music is upbeat, catchy, and dazzlingly ambient.”
-360 MAGAZINE
“Zachary Knowles has dug himself a soft spot in our hearts, and it is only a matter of time until he finds his way into yours.”
–Ones To Watch
Knowles offers up honeyed vocals while he straddles the sonic outlines of introspective bedroom-pop and pacific R&B inflections. Propelled by the subtleness of a minimal production and an eloquent falsetto… toward the direction of a sonic haven where one can find equanimity in a time of difficulty.”
-EARMILK
Rising artist and tender pop creator, Zachary Knowles, shares his newest single, “carpool,” today via FADER Label. The latest from Knowles is a song of yearning for his love to be next to him and the pain of distance that turns to a need for escape and daydreaming. Nobody can drive in the carpool lane alone and Knowles feels into the void in his life, and sings, “it’s not the same without you here with me.” On the single, he says:
“carpool” is about the mental traffic jam and anxiety of being separated from the person you love. I can’t stand being stuck in traffic, so I thought it would be the perfect concept to portray those lonely feelings. The song itself flowed out very naturally and I knew it was something special. At its surface, “carpool” focuses on how bad it feels to be alone, but below it’s a love song about desire and how your person makes all the lonely and sad times better.”
The music video for “carpool” opens with Knowles sitting in front of his car underneath a street light. Lyrics flash across the screen that hit extra hard, like “only so many songs I can sing by myself,” as the loneliness in his heart is written all over his face. He gets on his feet and starts packing his car up with every door as wide open as his longing heart.
The previous single, “johnny & june,” arrived last month, just before Valentine’s Day, along with a music video steeped in mystery, nostalgia and most importantly: love. The Texas-based singer, songwriter and performer calls back to one of the most famous love stories in music, that of Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash. The accompanying music video by TJ Hoover and Jonah George (Jeremy Zucker, Chelsea Cutler, Alexander23) takes the song to an innocent setting that many can trace first love moments back to: high school. The viewer never sees the face of this could-be June, and yet they see so deeply into the soulful eyes of this potential Johnny.
Spotify highlighted the track on their New Music Friday playlist, where Knowles is a mainstay with his new releases. The Most Radicalist described the single saying, “I can imagine a venue filled with fans chanting along to this cut,” and Wizard Radio says, “The best way to describe Zachary Knowles music is like a warm hug from a cozy blanket.” Hidden Hits says, “‘Sweeter than honey, “johnny & june” is the best love song we’ve heard from Knowles thus far. Although he wrote “johnny & june” at a time of chaos and confusion, Knowles managed to craft a charming tune that’ll certainly resonate with millions around the world.”
The selflessness of Zachary Knowles isn’t just in the music’s sweet lyrics of love, but also how it was made. Ashe, Alexander23, X Lovers, and more have been collaborators of his and share a collective vision of expression to really serve listeners in the most impactful way possible. With 45 million global streams, nearly one million monthly listeners on Spotify and over 53k followers on Tiktok, it’s clear it’s working.
The fresh up-and-comer, who opened for Alec Benjamin on tour in 2019, has been turning heads in the pop and indie-R&B realms with two EPs, Feelings (2018) and Magnolia (2020), with songs such as “city” and “slow summer” that show off his gifted, yet ever-improving songwriting skills that caught the attention of Ones to Watch, Uproxx, Earmilk, Happy Mag, and more.
The newest offerings, “carpool” and “johnny & june,” both out now via FADER Label, are follow-ups to his powerful stand-alone single “super sad songs” and his Magnolia EP, offering proof that pop can be personal and that Knowles is one of its most intriguing and capable emerging song crafters to date.
BIO
Zachary Knowles has spent his entire life leading up to this moment. Hailing from Magnolia, Texas, Knowles was bit by the musical bug at an early age, when his parents gifted him a light-up keyboard in first grade. “I started teaching myself songs on there, but I always kept it to myself,” he explains. It didn’t take long for Knowles to run with his newfound talents; Eventually, Knowles transitioned into writing his own material, and he was pleasantly surprised at the online reaction to his own work as it racked up tens of thousands of streams on SoundCloud almost immediately: “I fell in love with making music. I’d come home from school and write as much stuff as I could.”
In his freshman year of college, he set a goal to release something properly and ended up with a series of well-received singles that led to a full EP of music touching on influences ranging from John Mayer to Post Malone and, most predominantly, Justin Bieber. Most recently, he released his Magnolia EP, a collection of songs that take direct inspiration from his small-town upbringing, young love, and the lessons that come with growing up. Knowles’ music has a strong ethos – To forge deeper connections with those around him by reaching deep inside to expose the commonalities that bond everyone in this universe. “I just wanna reach people,” he explains. “My whole dream at the start of this was to build relationships, whether it’s with one person or a hundred people. Personal connections to others are so important. Music is a really cool way to express yourself in a real way and talk about real-life things, rather than what others want to hear.” It’s an admirable aim, and you’ll definitely want to hear what Knowles has coming next.
