In her music as Itasca, Kayla Cohen lives in a kind of dream world. Things aren’t ideal, but with the early-morning, autumnal sound of her backing band, she is able to conjure up something resembling transcendence. “It would be nice,” Cohen sang on “Buddy,” the first single from her upcoming full-band debut Open to Chance, “To live on a mountain by your side.”
“No Consequence” is a slower-building cut—less blissed-out, but equally transportive. As weeping slide guitars and brush-stroked drums carve an atmosphere recognizable to anyone who’s spent time with Neil Young’s Harvest Moon, Cohen imagines a moment of personal victory, unobstructed by self-doubt or fear. She conquers her enemies and marches forward. In one particularly inspiring moment, she even seems to address inevitable Twitter haters (“A sea of pages falling from the sky… You forget them in the blink of an eye”). By the song’s end, Cohen arrives at a peaceful conclusion that rings with a prophetic poignancy. “You’re a leader now,” she sings, “Graceful in the light.” Here’s hoping that many will soon be following in her path.
