Upcoming folk artist and singer songwriter Christina Skramstad, known professionally as City Dress, has released her newest single “Moon Landings” and to say I’m deeply moved by this track is an understatement. It’s soothing, dreamy, and incredibly captivating. If you like music like Weyes Blood and Bon Iver, then you will love City Dress. However, this piece is not just for those a fan of this particular genre. It’s for anyone that has ever felt a single moment change the trajectory of their life and is continuously intrigued by the complex way human beings create beautiful human moments. Simply put, this piece is for everyone.
The track begins with an eerie but dulcet sound that can only be described as otherworldly. To me, it mimics the mystery of outer space, almost like another world beyond any of us could ever imagine. The guitar and the piano come in shortly after, infused with static, creating a tone that captures the feeling of looking at the night sky. The vocals are then added, in which the artist contemplates how human beings were able to make “the impossible real.” The production of the soft percussion and layers of synth envelop the overall sound quality, making it feel like you’re transcending into another dimension. The imagery in this piece is so real and well written, making me feel like I’m actually catching stars, taking small steps on the moon, and exploring the world one breath at a time, like she illustrates so beautifully in the song. “We’re expanding into space from our door” is the line that stuck out most to me. The way she is able to capture the sound of feeling infinite and capture the feeling of being connected to moments the world creates is breathtaking. I am truly in awe.
“I wrote ‘Moon Landings’ in the early days of the pandemic after watching a show in which the characters go back in time to the night Neil Armstrong first set foot on the moon,” Skramstad says. “It made me think about transcendence, awe, and what it feels like when the world’s collective gaze is aimed in the same direction, as that was happening in real-time with Covid. ‘Moon Landings’ is a meditation on moments that forever change us, whether they are collective or individual. Everyone has their own personal moon landings when moving beyond their defined atmosphere through evolution or invention, challenging what they are told is binary or fixed. ‘Moon Landings’ explores what it means to be in awe of how we create new worlds, answers, and, inevitably, new problems through human ingenuity and perseverance.”
City Dress is the folk-indie-pop songwriter Christina Skramstad, a Brooklyn based Berklee alum. She released her debut EP ‘Showing Up’ in 2020 and is set to release new music in the upcoming year. According to Spotify “City Dress’s music is for everyone who spent their childhoods obsessively reading the lyrics to their favorite songs.” Simply put, this artist is for everyone.
Written by Amrita Kumar