“Lingering” - Cameron Stenger
Photo Credit: Artist EPK
Cameron Stenger’s “Lingering” isn’t just a song — it’s a slow-motion emotional unraveling. The kind where your gut and your headphones agree: something is shifting. With a steady blend of vulnerability, vintage flair, and lyrical gut punches, “Lingering” plants its feet in the uncertain space between holding on and finally letting go.
The track begins like a letter you never meant to send: raw, stripped back, just acoustic guitar and honesty. But Stenger doesn’t let it stay quiet for long. The tune locks straight into a groove with a Beatlesque descending bassline that feels both comforting and questioning — the kind of musical phrase that loops in your head like a thought you can’t shake.
By the time the full band crashes in — drums thundering, electric guitars howling like ghosts at the door — you’re neck-deep in it. This isn’t just arrangement; it’s emotional architecture.
Stenger’s writing walks a delicate line — personal without being self-indulgent, poetic without being cryptic. Lines like, “Still in love with the aftermath,” don’t just sound good — they sting. They linger. They feel like pages torn from your own journal, the ones you scribbled down at 2am but never meant to read out loud.
Picture levitating flowers, spectral doubles, and dreamlike slow motion — director Erin Scannell has created a music video that reflects the song’s emotional terrain with eerie beauty. It’s not just a visual; it’s a mirror held up to your subconscious.
Photo Credit: Artist EPK
There’s a subtle power in knowing this wasn’t built in some sterile pop lab. “Lingering” breathes with the warmth of real musicians in real rooms, pushing and pulling on each other’s energy. The lineup is stacked with talent:
Jeff Crawford at the production helm, Rachel Kiel’s vocals weaving soft harmonies like a second conscience, Dylan Turner’s bassline that’s both melodic and grounding, plus a full instrumental palette with slide guitar, trumpet and trombone.
It’s chamber-folk grown up, plugged in, and emotionally supercharged.
Fans of Stenger’s critically acclaimed 2023 EP Return will hear the same artistic DNA here — poetic introspection, warm instrumentation — but “Lingering” is bolder. More urgent. There’s a readiness in this track. It’s like he’s cracking his own shell, and letting us watch in real time.
“Lingering” is what happens when someone finally decides to stop hiding from themselves — and writes the soundtrack to that messy, necessary process. It’s not about having all the answers. It’s about letting the questions ring out long enough for something true to echo back.
This is a powerful lead single from an artist who’s clearly leveling up — emotionally, musically, and sonically. Cameron Stenger isn’t just lingering. He’s arriving.
“Lingering” is available now on all major streaming platforms
