Dorothea Paas is a Canadian songwriter who has been touring North America for the last decade and even contributed to albums by the likes of U.S. Girls and Jennifer Castle. Thus, it’s something of a surprise that she’s only just on the brink of releasing her first album, but these are the facts: it’s called Anything Can’t Happen and comes out on May 7 via Telephone Explosion.
She has also shared the title track, saying: “These uncertainties remain in tension, so that you can decide what you want the song to mean based on how you’re feeling. I hope that this song facilitates some cathartic surrender to the fact that there is so much we can’t control or resolve. There is not only fear but also possibly hope in the idea that we don’t know what is coming.”
Those years of experience are immediately apparent in “Anything Can’t Happen”, which unfolds in three acts, each more breathtaking than the last, displaying an artist in full command of her craft. At first she’s the vulnerable songwriter, asking “will you ever trust me again?” as buoyant bass and wisps of what sounds like flute twirl in the atmosphere. Paas soon diverts the song into a period of self-reflection, building tension with lightly tempestuous percussion underscoring her admission “it’s so hard to trust when you don’t even try.” This finally builds up to the storm’s bursting, a power-folk finale like a lost Fleetwood Mac hit, replete with shining melodies and tangled instrumentation creating a windswept and cinematic conclusion.
Watch the video for “Anything Can’t Happen”, directed by Ryan Al-Hage, below.
Dorothea Paas’ debut album Anything Can’t Happen comes out on May 7 via Telephone Explosion. You can find her on Bandcamp, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Twitter.
