Track By Track: Conner Cherland Breaks Down New EP Toad Boy! And Other Related Parables

California-based singer-songwriter Conner Cherland has only been a full-time musician for three years, but he is quickly establishing himself as an artist who strives to foster meaningful connection by sharing his relatable stories with others.

Drawing influence from artists like Hozier, Eminem, and Ed Sheeran, after setting a goal to write 40 songs of his own in just six months at the end of 2014, he has since far surpassed that, having written more than 135 songs and released his full-length album The Choices of John Still last year.

Today Cherland releases his new EP Toad Boy! And Other Related Parables. The six-track collection showcases the enticing blend of soul and indie folk that the young artist has to offer and, perhaps most importantly, his ability to speak to his listeners in a way that reaches their hearts.

He broke the EP down track by track for Musical Notes Global. Discover the stories behind the songs below.

“Toad Boy”

“’Toad Boy’ is the title track of my new EP ‘Toad Boy! And Other Related Parables.’ With 3 years under my belt as a full-time musician, this EP (and this song in particular) serves as a metaphor of my journey into the music industry. I hope this song makes people feel less alone as they pursue meaningful work and overcome disheartening obstacles.”

“Let My Body Be”

“I hope my life doesn't turn out like the songs I sing in bars: beautiful and unnoticed. That's why I wrote ‘Let My Body Be,’ as a prayer to god that he'd use me (dead or alive) to make the world a better place. To this day if I start feeling invisible at a gig, I play this song and pray ‘Father, let my body be beautiful beyond what I can see. Father, when my words pass away, won't you stay.’ It's a call to hope when I can't muster it, and a meditation to combat loneliness and futility. I hope people sing along and feel themselves more hopeful and less alone.”

“Sides”

“I learned a hard lesson at my first job: co-workers are not the same as friends. I'm super friendly; someone in college told me that I ‘ooze friendship’. Hence, every time I was having a good time with a person, I thought we were becoming best friends. Turns out, lots of people are nice, but they don't all want to come to my birthday party. Sides is a song where I yell that ‘I can't be something I'm not, though I've tried, honestly.’ And honestly, I have tried to be happy with superficial networks. Although I understand that these cursory friendships are necessary, I crave deeper ones and know that my days in shallow relationships are always numbered.”

“If You Want It”
“‘If You Want It‘ starts with, ‘One more, in the corner. Ignore, say you like it,’ and those lyrics came to me after a very long day of playing music at a winery and getting zero claps.

It's about how my initial goal was to make a living playing music, and later realizing that what I really wanted was to play to people who'd like to hear my songs, and not 3 hours of dance covers. It's also a good reminder that if you set your sights on something, you might get it, so you should be careful about having specific goals.”

“Bootlickin Betty”

“‘Bootlickin Betty’ is a fun little diddy about people who don't keep their promises. These people are in abundance everywhere, particularly in the music industry, and I figured that I'd be better off writing a song for them than to hold it against them. I bought a thesaurus which told me that ‘sweet talker’ could be substituted for ‘bootlicker’, and my imagination was off to the races.”

“Men Do Whatever They Want”

“The last song on this new EP is called ‘Men Do Whatever They Want,’ which is a song that I wrote after reading ‘Animal Farm’ and ‘1984.’ Between that, and recent personal experiences, I knew I wanted to write a song about this very tragic thing that happens with people in power; specifically, grown adult men. Even though I wrote this song out of my own experiences, it seems a lot of women find comfort in it and can relate.”

Listen to Toad Boy! And Other Related Parables now on Spotify.