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18-year-old Genevieve Stokes is an up-and-coming artist to watch. Her debut EP, coming out this summer, was originally conceived as a high school project. But her refined sound belongs to someone who’s been in the business for years, which she has in a sense; she’s been writing music since age eight.<\/p>\n

You can hear hints of artists like Bon Iver, Regina Spector (who she counts among her influences), Maria Taylor, and Fleet Foxes in her music, from the melodious “Surface Tension<\/a>” to the soulful, dreamy “Simple Love<\/a>” (the debut single she released just a year ago) and the nostalgic “Portland Nights<\/a>.” “Morning Dove<\/a>” spotlights her songwriting, with lyrics like “There’s a weight to your defiance\/So I’ll wait to break the silence.” She classifies her music as folk and pop, describing her sound as “ethereal.”<\/p>\n

On Friday, she released her latest single “Running Away,” which was written about a love she thought was unrequited at the time. As it turned out, she was wrong – now she’s dating the subject of the song. “I haven’t fully actually talked about it, so he’ll probably find out [it’s about him] once he reads this, but I’m not too worried about it because I feel like he probably knows,” she laughs.<\/p>\n

“I couldn’t see you coming \/ I was always running away \/ You hit me out of nowhere \/ Will you stay?” her crisp voice sings wistfully.<\/p>\n