Solo Effort
Big Thief’s Adrianne Lenker Shares Tender New Song “dragon eyes”: Stream
Adrianne Lenker of Big Thief has shared a tender new song called “dragon eyes”. It’s the second preview from the two solo albums she’s releasing later this month, songs and instrumentals. Following lead single “anything”, this new track is a stark and beautiful indie folk tune that features all of Lenker’s signature qualities: rustling percussion, bristly acoustic guitar, and her soft, soothing, and entrancing vocal delivery. As always, her lyrics strike a curious balance between poetic abstraction and vivid imagery. “Stars bloom/ On a warm summer night/ They have a clear view /Without the bedroom light,” she sings with care. Take a listen below. Even though the ever-prolific Lenker released two albums with Big Thief last year — U.F.O.F. and Two Hands — t...
Hop Along’s Frances Quinlan Releases more songs from 2005 EP: Stream
Earlier this year, Hop Along frontwoman Frances Quinlan issued her excellent debut under her own name, Likewise. The album quickly became one of our favorite of the year — though technically speaking it wasn’t her first solo release. She initially launched Hop Along as a solo project, dropping the freshman year LP back in 2005. Today, in celebration of that record’s 15th anniversary, Quinlan has released it to streaming services for the very first time, in addition to sharing a brand new EP of tracks from that era called more songs from 2005. The sessions that led to freshman year and (eventually) more songs from 2005 were as DIY as can be. Quinlan recorded in her parents basement in the Pennsylvania suburbs, with additional backing vocals and field sounds picked up everywhere from a house...
Jehnny Beth Shares New Song “Heroine”: Stream
Jehnny Beth’s debut solo album, To Love Is to Live, sounds like it will be a heavy affair. Early singles have all been various levels of intense, from the sensual pulse of “Flower”, to the ominous stalk of “Innocence”, to the thunderous spasms of “I’m the Man”. However, the album’s latest preview, “Heroine”, brings a more melodic air to the affair. To be fair, the Savages singer hasn’t taken her foot off the post-punk pedal for this one — not at all. But with warped jazz horns and undulating baking vocals swirling together over propellant drums, there’s a more hypnotic thrust here. It’s coupled with lyrics that, as Beth explained in a press release, owe a lot to the galvanizing of her collaborators: “When I think of this song, I think of Romy from the xx strangling my neck with her hands i...
