Cover Photo Credit: Adam Kelly
Author: Anniyah Fitzhugh
Picture this. You’re on a bike. Alone. There’s this cool breeze brushing along your face, maybe you’re riding by a neighborhood you haven’t seen in years, or just heading somewhere with no real plan. You’re not in a rush, you’re just thinking. About everything. Thinking about how your life has happened so far, about what comes next. Or maybe you’re walking or driving. Somewhere in between destinations. Somewhere familial. A little bit sad, a little bit full of wonder.
That’s the kind of atmosphere Leith Ross’s new album, I Can See the Future, invites. Releasing on September 19th, the record feels made for these in-between moments. For soft the reflection, grief, celebration, and that bittersweet sense that something is ending, and something else might be starting.
Why the title?
Two ways of seeing.
“The majority of the album focuses on my interpersonal relationships and my understanding of myself, while the other half of it is my understanding of the world and my place in it.” Leith shared.
The title, I Can See the Future, carries a dual meaning. Part of it focuses on personal reflection and closure, while the other part looks outward, imagining what the future could be. It’s both about understanding where they’ve been and wondering what’s still to come.
“Stay”
Stay is not the first track on the record, but it does mark a shift.
The songwriting process for Stay was a bit unusual for Leith. Their process is typically done in a one-sitting approach, but with Stay, the process shifted. They wrote the first half of Stay early on, then stepped away.
“I tried to write the second verse in the same style as the first, but it didn’t really work,” Leith shared.
They explained that it felt like something needed to shift, because Stay holds these two very extreme and contrasting emotions: sadness and desperation, but also celebration and happiness.
So, in efforts to represent the range of emotions, Leith decided to lean into a clear vibe shift, a musical shift to match the emotional one.
Photo Credits: Shayla Loewen
“Alone”
The beauty of learning and knowing yourself.
When asked which song they loved watching come together in the studio, Leith named one that may catch some off guard. “Alone.”
Based on the title, some may be expecting the content of the song to be heavy. The usual feelings that are associated with being alone, isolation, sadness, and ecatera. Contrastingly, Leith described the song in such a positive light, sharing that it was one of the most positive and affirming songs they’ve written.
“Maybe ‘Alone,’” they say thoughtfully. “I wrote that from a feeling I really liked.”
Leith continued to share that the song centers on a realization: that no one, not even your family, not even the people closest to you, will ever fully know every version of you. But yourself.
So instead of that initial assumption of it being a more somber track, it was more of a liberating and positive one.
“When you’re a friend to yourself, and you understand that you’re the only person who’ll ever truly know you. It feels so good,” Leith explains. “It feels deep and important.”
Leith shared some backstory of the creation process in the studio. Essentially, the first three quarters of Stay begin quietly, with intimate acoustics, then open into something more vast and cathartic.
“We created this beautiful moment I’d always dreamed of,” they shared.. “The last quarter of the song explodes into this overwhelming feeling, and hearing it come to life like that, it was meaningful. ”
Sound & Growth
“It’s kind of like how you can’t see yourself growing up.” Leith shared, when questioned, how their songwriting has evolved since their last project.
They continued to express how they are always songwriting, it’s always been a constant in their life, so it’s challenging to evaluate it or possible changes, with an outside perspective, because they don’t necessarily have the ability to.
I don’t really understand how my songwriting has changed. I just know that it probably has, but I can’t tell.”
But a change they did acknowledge is the confidence they have gained surrounding production.
“I’ve always been the guy with the acoustic guitar writing the song,” they explain. “But in the studio, with computers, mics, all of that, I wasn’t always sure of myself. Now I feel more confident in that world.”
Though this is only their second full-length project, it feels like a long time coming. Part of that evolution came from collaborating closely with Frostum, a co-producer and creative partner who helped bring long-held sonic ideas to life.
“There was a real opportunity to try sounds I’ve always wanted to hear on my songwriting,” Leith shares. “That’s really special.”
The Future That Feels Possible
With I Can See the Future dropping September 19th and a tour on the way, Leith is inviting us into a personal journey. A journey full of reflection, emotion, and moments that stick with you.
It’s a record meant to be listened to all the way through, whether you’re alone or out and about, carrying you through memories and feelings that shape who we are.
At its heart, this project fosters the idea of connection, to yourself, to others, and to those shifting moments that keep changing everything.
Anniyah Fitzhugh I KXSU Music & Arts Reporter