VIDEO: Neighbor Lady Knows Everyone Loves a Robot Story with "Let It Bleed"

June 1, 2018 | by Jocelyn Hoppa

I downloaded a bunch of pre-release downloads sent by publicists before a recent cross-country flight, and Neighbor Lady was part of the bunch. The Athens/Atlanta band's debut album Maybe Later, which dropped on May 11, instantly caught my ear right off from the lead track "Let It Bleed." The song didn't just catch my ear, but physically wormed its way right in there to stay as I've kept coming back to it. There's a dissonance to the simple chord structure that plays so well in counterbalancing the track's build up and hook.

Maybe Later can be found at Bandcamp, and upon going there you'll be greeted with music showcasing a keen insight for whatever criteria I personally have for indie rock, as well as country western ballads. When the two blend, where those ballads blend right into noise and songwriter Emily Braden's distinct, heart-rending vocals, it's quite a thing. It certainly made my plane ride better, especially after crying extensively throughout Walk the Line (which I've already seen many times before).

Band members consist of the aforementioned Braden, Jack Blauvelt, Merideth Handscom, and Andrew McFarland. Braden is the frontwoman and Neighbor Lady started out as her solo project, but as gleaned from the press release the band started "because I was too nervous to play a show by myself, so I asked my friends to play with me." The kismet took off from there.

Anyway, I was reminded of them today and ran back into this video they made of a robot confronting humanity's weird, sentient existence. Let it bleed, indeed.