Lael Neale | photo by Paige Walter
Indie Rock Hit Parade Live Session: Lael Neale
The Los Angeles musician makes her in-studio debut performing songs from Altogether Stranger
Joining us in the studio for this Indie Rock Hit Parade live session is an artist whose minimalist approach leaves her songs ample room to bloom. Lael Neale has been an IRHP favorite since 2021, when she released her shimmering Sub Pop debut,. Though it was Neale’s second album overall, Acquainted with Night rebooted the Los Angeles artist’s style into an evocative mix of freewheeling folk balladry and Velvets-ready drone. Due to lockdown restrictions, it would be another two years (and another album) before Neale could take her new sound on the road.
The release of her third Sub Pop LP earlier this year was marked by significant changes. Altogether Stranger arrived in the wake of the devastating wildfires in Southern California, after which Neale returned to the East Coast to live on her family’s farmland in rural Virginia. The feeling of displacement is common throughout Altogether Stranger, as is Neale’s signature instrument: the Omnichord. Neale and her longtime collaborator/producer Guy Blakeslee made a trip up from Virginia to debut their new songs in our studio before heading off on a European record release tour.