Video premiere: Gal Musette, ‘Summertime’

Kevin Bronson on June 7th, 2021

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Under the name Gal Musette, 22-year-old San Clemente native Grace Freeman makes folk-pop with an enchanting sense of wonder and a timeless feel, led by her bright vocals, reminiscent of the Sundays’ Harriet Wheeler.

Her artist name is derived from bal-musette, a style of music and dance that was popular in 19th-century France. Indeed, the DNA of French chansons runs through her recent singles and 2020’s debut EP, “It Appears That I Am Stuck.”

Freeman got an early start pursuing her songwriting passions — she was writing on piano and performing at open mics at age 10. At 14, inspired by Magnetic Fields’ opus “69 Love Songs,” she wrote “70 Love Songs,” which caught the attention of Stephin Merritt and led to her opening some tour dates for the band.

Friday brought the arrival of her intoxicating new single “Summertime,” a song she says she originally wrote six years ago. Like her April single “Honeymoon” and the rest on her forthcoming album, “Backwards Lullaby” (out in October), it was made with producer Jon O’Brien (Young the Giant, Coma Culture). That album, by the way, includes a duet with one of her artistic inspirations, Rufus Wainwright.

Premiering today, the “Summertime” video is the work of director/cinematographer Autumn Palen (“Eating Lisa”), poignantly capturing summer and all its euphoria — even if, as the songwriter slyly suggests, that feeling is merely illusory. Prepare to be swept away by it.

During Pride month, Gal Musette is donating Bandcamp proceeds from the new single to The Trevor Project.

||| Watch: The video for “Summertime”