Travels With Brindle - "Switching Tracks"

Photo by Jen Vesp

Travels With Brindle, the lo-fi ukulele pop project of Chelsea Spear, has always been kind of a niche musical taste, as lo-fi ukulele pop projects tend to go. However, Spear's latest single has a surprising amount of crossover appeal. "Switching Tracks" is still lo-fi, and wonderfully so, but the song also has a certain quality to it that is going to appeal to a much wider audience than you might expect. It's the kind of song that could sneak up on the mainstream, the way Belle & Sebastian do every so often. It has enough of a pop sensibility to appeal to (at least some of) the masses, but enough indie charm and quirk to entice us music snobs.

Chelsea Spear says of her new single:

“‘Switching Tracks’ is about the moment you cross paths with a crush and realize they’re not as great as you thought they were, and that realization frees you. It’s inspired by a moment at the end of The Idiot when Selin and Ivan finally talk about her feelings for him and his inability to reciprocate them. I also experienced two friend break-ups in a three-year period, so a lot of the fresh pain comes from not being able to say some of the things I really wanted to say to them.”

You can listen to "Switching Tracks" below. Notes from Undergrad is due out June 2, and can be pre-ordered through Bandcamp. For more on Travels With Brindle, check out the artist's website.