Exclusive Premiere: Stream Jess Knights’ New Single “Cover Your Eyes”

By: Staff –

Emerging Calgary-based soul singer-songwriter Jess Knights is back with her latest single “Cover Your Eyes”, which you can stream exclusively via Aesthetic Magazine below.

“Cover Your Eyes,” serves as a biting commentary on what society chooses to ignore, with Joey Landreth contributing soothing harmonies to the chorus.

The track offers various scenarios in which people turn a blind eye, the spry piano-pop melodies contradicting the dark subject matter. From an undercover gambler who shares their loot in exchange for silence, to a cheating husband and a knowing wife who keeps quiet to keep her family together, to a conservative town that lets a bishop get away with abuse. 

Knights doesn’t shy away from calling it as it is, crooning about our most uncomfortable truths, especially in a verse about overlooking the homeless. “He asks you for help, you got places to be/You think to yourself, ‘Thank God, it’s not me’/Pull down your shades, you pretend not to see/Cover your eyes.”

It’s in these confronting lyrics, however, that a universal message lies: the world needs humanity now more than ever.

“The lyrics began as a criticism of myself,” Knights says. “I would walk past an emergency shelter every day on my way to work. Some days, I would engage with the people outside of the shelter, and other days I would put on my headphones, pull down my sunglasses, and try not see or be seen. It made me think of all the scenarios in life where we turn a blind eye. For better or worse, it seems to be something that humans do as a coping mechanism or survival method. I’m hoping this song won’t be perceived as a criticism, but rather a wake-up call.”