Brie Stoner's latest single is a cinematic ballad rich with sun-drenched memories, serving as a nostalgic homage to the beauty, lore, and lost love found in Topanga Canyon.
Stream: “Topanga” – Brie Stoner
There’s an ethereal quality, a sense of nostalgia and wonder, while driving through Topanga Canyon — the sunlight streaming through the sycamores and the winding roads resonating with echoes from the past. Each curve offers a fresh view of natural marvels, and hidden along dirt paths are tales waiting to be shared and treasures to be found. For many, Topanga Canyon will always hold a sacred significance, particularly for Brie Stoner, who discovered a second home in the mountainous areas north of Los Angeles, now honoring this land with her new single. In “Topanga,” the singer/songwriter encapsulates the West Coast’s splendor and enchantment in a cinematic ballad filled with sun-soaked reminiscences, yearning, and heartfelt reflection.
I was dressed like a movie star
on the boulevard of broken dreams
You asked me for an autograph
because I made such a scene
You told me I was the atmosphere
you wanted to inhale
But I burned like fire,
and I sensed
I wasn't going to be a
good girl for you, baby
No, I was never going to be your woman, baby
No, I was always going to be your favorite mess
No, I was never going to be your woman
Darling, I was just going to be your mistake
Topanga – Brie Stoner
Atwood Magazine is thrilled to premiere “Topanga,” Brie Stoner’s first single of the year following her debut album Me Veo last spring and the subsequent Like a Man EP in the fall. Originally from Madrid and now residing in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Stoner is a talented multilingual singer/songwriter, visual artist, and author, with a musical style reminiscent of artists like Lana Del Rey and Mitski.
Atwood Magazine had the privilege of unveiling her debut album last year, which was praised as “a dreamy, hazy, multi-dimensional collection [that] captures an artist coming into themselves, finding their voice, and harnessing their inner light after lingering in the darkness for far too long. It’s a mellifluous, melancholic exhale: Thirteen tender, sweetly seductive tracks showcase Stoner delving into the depths of her humanity, contemplating identity, liberating herself from labels, and celebrating ‘the myriad, mystical threads that create the whole cloth of the human spirit.'”
You picked me up in the Alpha Romeo
with deep green paint and cognac leather
And I couldn’t take my eyes off you
as you sang the Stones no
No, I was never going to be your woman, baby
No, I was always going to be your favorite mess
No, I was never going to be your woman, darling
I was just going to be your mistake
Drawing from Stoner’s profound personal connection to the region, “Topanga” gracefully navigates through emotions as she intertwines fragments of her past — canyon drives, fleeting romances, and the feeling of finally finding a place to belong — into a rich, expansive soundscape. It functions as both a tribute and a time capsule; a love letter to a place that has influenced her, and a contemplation of how certain landscapes become woven into our very beings.
“‘Topanga’ is my first love letter to LA, and I believe it marked the start of my songwriting for this album,” Stoner shares with Atwood Magazine. “When I relocated to Los Angeles in my twenties, it was my drive through Topanga Canyon that truly made me feel at home. Perhaps it’s because the landscape echoed Spain, my childhood home. Moreover, there’s an essence of rock and roll history and lore that permeates the canyon.”
“In the song, I collected fragments of memories from that time… of lovers, driving in the canyon, moments that shimmer with magic and will forever remain in my heart. I aimed to encapsulate the nostalgic, cinematic feeling that Topanga Canyon evokes in me, and I hope listeners can feel it too.”
Stoner’s expressive voice has long been a conduit of seduction and raw emotion, particularly in the song’s second chorus and subsequent breakdown, where she reaches poignant, bittersweet heights.
Driving on the 101 to the canyon
Cruising on the highway up to Topanga
Sipping drinks on the back porch
Eyes on the movement
Surfing each other like waves on the ocean
But I was dynamite with the wick lit, honey
Nothing you could do to avert what was on the horizon
Because I was already fleeing from the one I loved
Oooh, oooh baby, I was already gone
there was nothing you could say
I was leaving my love in L
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A filmic ballad filled with sun-drenched recollections, Brie Stoner’s newest single serves as a heartfelt homage to the allure, stories, and bygone romance of Topanga Canyon.