REVIEW: Sara Laurence is Passionate, Independent and Certain of Uncertainty
WRITTEN BY KIMBERLY MURO
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Photo by Alexandra Pillsbury
A modern hitmaker doesn’t always look like a pop star with a long tenure behind their tail, singing into a crowd of millions of screaming fans. Sometimes a hitmaker looks like twin sisters, making music together in their room.
Sara Laurence is the musical project of Celeste and Simone Liu. Originally from St. Louis, Missouri, the duo is making music that reminds you of the first time you ever really loved something. Life On Jupiter magazine had the pleasure of talking to them about their musical journey thus far and what is to come.
Before there was Sara Laurence, there was Celeste and Simone attending college at USC, where Simone took a liking to making beats on GarageBand. As she made music, Celeste eventually joined in to help turn these ideas into complete songs. As their time came to an end at USC, they had about ten complete, unreleased songs.
It was only when they lost all but one song after Simone’s backpack was lost in the rain that they decided to put their music out, at least to serve as a place to keep their projects safe.
The surviving song, “Carried Away,” became the foundation for their launch into more public pursuits of music and artistry. They are still the primary collaborators on their tracks, working with producer and friend Charlotte Reed to perfect mixing and mastering.
The name Sara Laurence came after they saw a TikTok of a girl doing a “fit check” with the caption “Sarah Lawrence”, referring to the all-girls private school in New York. They loved the vibe of the video and thought Sarah Lawrence would be a cool name.
They were drawn to the fact that they would be two people under a single name. Almost opposite to other musical acts like Tame Impala, which is often confused for a band despite being a solo project of musician Kevin Parker.
For Celeste and Simone, however, the single name unifying them is a completely accurate depiction of their dynamic together. Music, an unanticipated avenue of exploration, has now come to the forefront of their life as they’ve garnered an audience of eager listeners.
“No real instruments were harmed in the making of this music”
Celeste talked about navigating the world of self-producing and releasing music, noting that “all the songs sound really different because we are still learning what we’re doing as we go along with it.” Though their songs may vary in BPM, there is a distinct sound that flows through Sara Laurence.
Inspired by their current rotation of artists like Justice, Tiffany Day and Ninajirachi, the duo says that their whole project is fueled by passion and “vibes.”
This is especially evident in Sara Laurence’s persistence in promoting their work to new audiences. They are versatile, making videos one day comparing themselves to other popular musicians, the next day posting a video lip-syncing along to their music with no makeup in their pajamas.
I found them while scrolling on TikTok one night. A video highlighting girls making “electronic bangers”; they were between slides of artists like Charli XCX and Underscores. After a couple of listens on Spotify, I was hooked.
As their music continues to reach new people, they are finding the balance between sharing their music and themselves. They have found that people are curious not only to listen to their music, but to know more about the people behind this new musical duo.
For the rest of this year, Sara Laurence looks forward to trying to finish and release an EP. For now, you can listen to their existing discography and keep up with them online for any new movement.
“Carried Away”
A track that wrestles with the consequences of remembering. The track opens with strong synths later cut through by sharp percussion. The vocals on this track are more subdued, sounding in some areas distorted and harder to understand. These more cryptic vocals pull together the theme of remembering past relationships and the unexpected feelings it can bring.
“haunting u”
Short but powerful, this track delivers exactly what its title suggests. The words strike listeners directly and clearly. Singing over a moody bass, Sara Laurence presents feelings of anger, frustration and mourning all at once.
“I Wanna”
The most “vibe” based of Sara Laurence’s discography, “I wanna” touches on the indulgences of life. Feeling good, getting high, being ambitious enough to “take a big bite.” You could play this track as you get ready for a night out and scream when you hear it play again at the club.