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Jan 09, 2025 By Caleb Campbell Photography by Eric Yochim

Next month, Denver-based indie folk singer/songwriter Holly Lovell is set to share her new album, Hello Chelsea, arriving on February 7th. The record is a collection of soulful and meditative folk yarns exploring themes of addiction, generational trauma, and healing. Lovell decamped into the woods of Eau Claire, WI, working with producer Brian Joseph (Bon Iver) and band members Courtney Hartman (guitars, vocals), Shane Leonard (drums, percussion), Steve Garrington (bass, synth), Ben Lester (pedal steel, synth), and Sean Carey (piano, vocals).

Last year, Lovell shared the album’s lead single, “Louis & Me,” followed by her following tracks, “Lion’s Den” and “When Did I Lose You,” and today she’s back with another new single, “Hello Chelsea,” premiering with Under the Radar.

“Hello Chelsea” occupies a similar space to singer/songwriters like Sharon Van Etten or Brandi Carlisle, with Lovell’s vocals ascending above decadent slow-burning crescendos and luminous melodies. The instrumentation flickers and simmers, matching the call of Lovell’s voice with a maze of ringing guitar lines, thrumming bass, and steady percussion. The results grow from plaintive acoustic intimacy to magnetic indie confessional, steadily unfurling as Lovell’s lyrics navigate the siren call and harsh reality of life in New York City: “Hello Chelsea, I feel like you hate me / Feel like you took my man / Went ahead and changed our plans…I gotta get out of New York City / I used to love it but now it’s just / A dressed up image with nothing left in it.”

Lovell says of the track, “I have a love/hate relationship with New York City. The hustle bustle makes everything feel possible, the sheer magnitude makes you feel empowered in your anonymity, but the veil is very thin and if you’re there long enough it tears and you realize this city is living and breathing and might just eat you up. My uncle, who we lost to a drug overdose in that city, lived in Chelsea, Manhattan. It’s probably my lens of loss but it feels like NYC changed the whole course of his life. There used to be this giant glowing neon sign on the side of a building on W 30th St that said ‘Hello Chelsea!’ in scripted writing. I had to walk by it every day to get to his apartment when I would visit and eventually it felt like it was mocking me. It felt so positive, but didn’t it know what Chelsea was doing to me? To my family? This song is a letter to Chelsea and the greater animal of New York City.”

Check out the song below and pre-save it here. Hello Chelsea is out everywhere on February 7th.