Lael Neale

Singer/songwriter Lael Neale started out with a style that tangled together melancholic folk, sun-drenched country, and indie rock, putting her lilting voice at the forefront of gorgeous, sometimes twangy arrangements. For her second album, 2021′s Acquainted with Night, Neale went a more minimal route, stripping many of the songs down to their barest essence.
Neale was raised on a farm in rural Virginia before moving to Los Angeles to pursue a life in music. She worked with various musicians and producers, playing out and recording often, and releasing her first album, I'll Be Your Man, in 2015. Throughout her career, however, Neale struggled with the finished products of her studio creations, feeling like they were weighted down and sterilized by the standard pop arrangements. In 2019, she began experimenting with home-recording stripped-down songs on an Omnichord, a synth-like instrument with a unique but limited set of sonic possibilities. These experiments slowly became the songs that would make up her 2021 sophomore album and Sub Pop debut, Acquainted with Night. The album was released in February of 2021. ~ Fred Thomas