Indie Rock Hit Parade Live Session: Renata Zeiguer

Renata Zeiguer | Photo by Eric Schuman for WXPN

Joining us in the studio for this Indie Rock Hit Parade Live Session is an artist whose debut album is already one of my favorites of this young year. Renata Zeiguer teamed up with Adam Schatz of Landlady to record her album, Old Ghost, which came out in February. With a nimble voice that effortlessly navigates through knotty melodies, Zeiguer is an artist who becomes more and more beguiling the more you listen. Joined by guitarist Will Graefe, bassist Christian Carpenter and drummer Jason Burger, Zeigeur came to our studio to perform a few of her new songs before a house show in West Philly.

What’s immediately apparent in the session opener “Wayside” is that Zeiguer’s songs are not fixed things. Despite the album being barely a month old, Zeiguer and her band have already begun to augment the songs with new interludes, adjustments and flourishes. The woozy middle section of this performance of “Wayside” is an early example of the ongoing experimentation. Next is “Follow Me Down,” which gradually builds from a hush to a shout. The dynamic nature of the songs continues to be showcased on “Gravity (Old Ghost),” while Zeiguer’s voice reaches stratospheric levels in the pre-chorus. Our session closes with “After All,” again bouncing between full-band attack and delicately intertwined guitar work.

Listen to Renata Zeiguer’s Indie Rock Hit Parade session below, and check out some photos from the studio: