Lia Pappas-Kemps Shares New Single, “Reservations”
Lia Pappas-Kemps releases her new single, “Reservations,” a wistful rumination on relationships, longing and the willful blindness that comes with desire. Out now on all streaming platforms via Coalition Music Records, the track finds Pappas-Kemps vulnerably bridging the grit of ’90s alt-rock with the intimacy of contemporary indie folk.
“‘Reservations’ is about misconstruing warning signs and choosing to be blissfully ignorant in a relationship, rather than confronting it. I wrote it by myself in my apartment in Montreal and recorded most of it live off the floor with a group of some of my favourite musicians in Toronto.”
The recording of “Reservations” captures a live immediacy that keeps Lia’s voice and songwriting at its core. The track is anchored by her distinct vocal phrasing, creating a tremble that’s both intimate and arresting.
Lush yet restrained instrumentation from Dylan Burchell (guitar), Julian Psihogios (drums), Melissa Paju (bass), and Lia herself (guitar) underpins Pappas-Kemps’ spectral vocal delivery, where she stretches words into shimmering, aching turns of phrase. Her performance lends the song an otherworldly beauty, evoking influences ranging from Mitski and Phoebe Bridgers to Alanis Morissette and Luna Li, while remaining distinctly her own.
The single continues Pappas-Kemps’ trajectory as one of Toronto’s most promising young songwriters with a growing reputation for atmospheric soundscapes and inventive guitar tunings. Her debut EP, Gleam, received praise from outlets including Atwood Magazine, Exclaim, Northern Transmissions and The Toronto Star, which called her “Toronto’s next breakout songwriter.”
Recorded in Taurus Studios and produced by Elia Pappas, engineered by Thomas D’Arcy, mixed by Howie Beck, and mastered by Kristian Montano, “Reservations” further solidifies Pappas-Kemps’ evolution as an artist tracing a compelling coming-of-age journey through song.
Review
“Reservations” hits like a gut-punch — sharp, vulnerable, and brutally honest. From the opening line (“shot me down like a sparrow… arrow into my skull”), you’re dropped straight into heartbreak’s crossfire. The song doesn’t tiptoe around pain; it leans into it, with lyrics that feel lived-in, pulled straight from the rawest corners of love and loss.
At its heart, the chorus — “Love love gimme something to rely on” — aches with desperation. It clings to the idea of stability even as everything crumbles, carrying that blind faith of seeing “no bad in you” when the truth is hollow. It’s the tension between hope and hurt that makes the song hit so close for anyone who’s ever held on longer than they should have.
“Reservations” isn’t a polished love song — it’s unfiltered honesty. That’s why it works. The words don’t just tell a story; they leave scars. It’s the kind of track that sticks with you, echoing long after the music fades.