my first impression of shelby's work. this is really beautiful. makes me feel small. took a listen or two to really get, but now all the songs are constantly stuck in my head. reminds me of phil elvrum's calmer work like dawn or some select songs off tgp2 and xiu xiu's fag patrol a lot. idiot for hire and the thunderstorms are favorites. great lyrics. minimalist but it matters. i understand deeply
This album has stuck with me through so much. The feeling of being stuck between people that you need and people that need you. There's a sense of inimitable solitude that is inherent to this in both its lyrics and its DIY sound but it's also triumphant. It's standing on a mountain declaring, "I'm here, this is what I am." But the mountain is a hill just outside of town, or the balcony overlooking the backyard and the very distant city that you can imagine is below ... read more
Anytime I see someone compare this band to Midori I get genuinely annoyed because they're so many miles better and also kinda just sound nothing alike
edit 4/21/2026: 85 -> 100 wow wow wow wow wow wow wow. you are an angel is the best and saddest and most relatable and transgender song ever
Really wasn't expecting to love this as much as I did. I might come more heavily around to the middle section of the album later with a few relistens, but that 4 song run starting with kate said to the end is absolutely beast mode. I also really love the same. I dont know if I'm more or less impacted by this by not really having listened to ... read more
breath of fresh air in this genre. every sound this album dips its toes into it executes so well it's genuinely shocking, the whole band is so instrumentally tight and they pay a great homage to their influences which they sometimes wear on their sleeves but the songs are good enough to the point where it doesn't even matter. first of all the drumming is SO tight and versatile you can really tell how experienced their drummer is on every song. the riffs and progression on fresh off ... read more