Avery Friedman has released her debut album ‘New Thing’.
Out now via Audio Antihero, the album features James Chrisman (Sister.) and Felix Walworth (Florist / Told Slant), and features her previous singles ‘Flowers Fell’, ‘Photo Booth’, and ‘New Thing’.
Speaking of her album, Avery said: “’New Thing’ is a conduit for emotions too frenetic to hold on your own. This record is a collection of the first songs I’ve ever written, after many years of orbiting the music world but denying myself my own musicianship. Many of these tracks were born of anxiety, from my turning to a guitar to externalize (and organize) a sense of chaos that otherwise felt trapped inside me. We recorded the bulk of it with a live band as a means to maintain the raw energy at the center of the record. What results is a time capsule for a year of intense personal expansion in my life and the layers of warmth, wonder, sensitivity, and sharpness that come with growing.”
To celebrate their debut album, Avery shared with us 5 tracks that influenced the release.
Alex G – Cross The Sea
The vocal sample and effects in this song deeply inspired the beginning of ‘Flowers Fell’, where I am singing the word “green” over and over, and sound like a little robot. As I listen back to this song now, the way the drums, vocal samples, and chaotic random ‘whirrs’ interweave like a braid reminds me a bit of the sonic patchwork that is the end of ‘Flowers Fell’.
Perfume Genius – Describe
Guitar tone. Need I say more? When I first heard ‘Describe’, I was obsessed with how the huge, crunchy electric guitars juxtapose against Michael Hadreas’s flowery vocals, and romantic lyrics. That multiplicity is otherworldly, and is something I hope to capture in my own songs.
Vondelpark – TV
Around the time I was making my record,I was obsessively listening to this song. Its influence is perhaps less direct than some of the other songs here, but in general, I am deeply inspired by lush, electronic tracks like this, which blend guitars, beats, and vocal sampling. The beginning and end, in particular, of ‘Flowers Fell’ are somewhat ethereal, and I think must be subconsciously influenced by this song.
Squirrel Flower – Almost Pulled Away
This song is so masterful with its building of tension and subsequent release. There’s such a push and pull of this song, and Ella O’Connor Williams has you basically begging for the release of the choruses. That type of almost boiling-over of tension, and melting-exhale of release is something I tried to capture in the pre-chorus to chorus transitions in my track.
Slow Dive – Allison
The slightly shoe-gazey soul (no shoe “sole” pun intended) of ‘Flowers Fell’ is no doubt influenced by this track (another song I was fixated on when I began recording). I love the steady drum beat throughout ‘Allison’, and the satisfying transition from verse to chorus. I also hear traces of this lilting vocal melody, and observational lyricism in my song.
Listen to Avery Friedman’s 5 tracks:
Stream Avery Friedman ‘New Thing’ below: