They Thought of Us by A Lady Named Isaac

I think something that draws fans of weird music together is an appreciation for a project’s earnest commitment to whatever it is they are inspired to create, the vision of the finished product driving it forward. The sincere lack of half-assery shown by A Lady Named Isaac in their EP They Thought of Us is at times subversive, showing a level of vulnerability that challenges our expectations of irony and emotional distance.

The EP starts off with a delicate piano intro before launching into gritty lofi midwest emo-gaze. Its pacing is psychedelic in a way, flowing freely from quiet and introspective to outspoken and incongruent to the breakneck pace of mathy, meter shifting drums. This project’s greatest strength is its discordant rawness coupled with finespun moments of clarity. While these expressions may seem unrelated, they both convey the project’s passionate anxiety toeing into paranoia. A Lady Named Isaac is bursting at the seams musically and emotionally, grasping at a sense of security and failing to reach it before falling into unfiltered chaos. This idea is supported by the near-constant piano accompaniment which helps the project achieve this balance between noisy grittiness and textured emotionality, with pleasing arpeggiated triads playing alongside buzzing synths. Headphones are a must for this one. -Carrie