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.

Travels With Brindle - "Something's Wrong"

Photo by Susan Margot Ecker

An "indie pop ukulele project" is right up our alley here at If It's Too Loud..., so we're thrilled to have a new song from Travels With Brindle, Chelsea Spear's indie pop ukulele project. "Something's Wrong" is going to immediately remind you of The Magnetic Fields, especially Claudia Gonson's songs. It has that stripped down quality along with a storytelling feel to it. It's almost even more theatrical than you would get with The Magnetic Fields despite having bare instrumentation. A lyric like "I read his emails by the glow of the Coke machine" just sets a mood completely. "Something's Wrong" is going to be nearly impossible to resist for many of us.

Chelsea Spear says of her new single:

"'Something's Wrong' is a musical establishing shot that sets the tone for the album, the way an 'I Want' song sets up the rest of a musical. You get a snapshot of who the narrator is and where she's at in her life... in this case, attending a school with high expectations and pining for someone she can't have. I hesitate to say it's a retreat into my comfort zone, but girl-group pastiches have always been my sweet spot."   

You can watch the video for "Something's Wrong" below. Notes from Undergrad is due out in 2023. For more on Travels With Brindle, check out the artist's website.