• News

• All

Aug 04, 2022 By Caleb Campbell Photography by Emma Cole

Last month, we shared “Temporary Letdown,” the latest single from indie pop guitarist and singer/songwriter Liv Slingerland. After years of making the rounds on the indie scene as a bassist and guitarist, Slingerland has recently broken out into the pop world while playing in the bands of Halsey and Olivia Rodrigo. While touring, Slingerland has also been steadily building a catalog of solo material, taking inspiration from classic rock songwriters, glitter-laden synth pop, and the colorful heights of queer pop. These inspirations all come together on her solo debut record, Hey You.

Some of the songs on Hey You date as far back as six years ago, but the record’s biggest creative push came in the midst of the pandemic following the death of Slingerland’s father Nicolaas. As she explains, “While I’ve been working on these songs for years, I hadn’t truly given my own music a full push before; I felt that this was the best way to channel my grief while honoring what my dad had sacrificed in his life to support my pursuit of a career in music. Since my goal had always been to be a front person, I knew that this was the time to refocus — the time to make something happen.”

The full record is out everywhere tomorrow, August 5th via Ani DiFranco’s Righteous Babe Records, but you can get an early listen to the album below, premiering with Under the Radar.

After opening with the spacious and winding guitar and synth work of the intro, Hey You acts as a supremely catchy tour through Slingerland’s inspirations. Much of them fall into the mold of ‘80s rock songwriters like Joan Jett or Pat Benatar, as seen in the buzzing synths and soaring guitar solo of the title track or the driving distorted bite found on the closer, “Come Back To Me.” Yet, Slingerland also shows off some undeniable pop songwriting talents, especially with the endlessly singable chorus on “Running Away From the Party,” the breezy balladry of “Bad Dreams,” and the dreamy synth pop gloss of “Temporary Letdown.” The resulting album cleverly lands between vintage and modern influences, balancing the worlds of rock, indie, and pop with near effortless poise.

Slingerland says of the record, “I’m so looking forward to releasing my full album, Hey You, especially via Righteous Babe Records! This project has meant a great deal to me and has been such a personal journey to complete. I can’t believe I finally get to share it with the world!”

Check out the full record below, out tomorrow, August 5th via Righteous Babe Records.