Kelsey Magnuson is a songwriter based in Olympia, Washington who this autumn will release her debut full-length album Don’t Budge on Earth Libraries. Along with Eva Leach (vocal harmony), Robin Caromosino (bass, keys, guitar) and Ian Francis (percussion), Kelsey Magnuson makes an amalgamation of bedroom pop and indie rock across the record, taking inspiration from the likes of Julie Doiron, Anna McClellan and Courtney Barnett to find a balance between sincere emotion and deadpan knowingness. Be that listing injuries which don’t come close to a broken heart (bee stings, spider bites, ER trips) or ruminating on where life’s suffering gets us in the end.
Lead single ‘Beep Beep’ is the perfect introduction to the style. An irreverent rhythm stopping and starting with volatile charm. “‘Beep Beep’ is a song written in the first months of the pandemic during a slip into a total loss of my sense of time,” Magnuson explains. “But the sound (beep! beep!) of a friends watch that went off on the hour every hour was particularly noticeable … how each hour could pass without much happening at all. The days would drag and then all of a sudden pass too quickly-the rhythm and stops in ‘Beep Beep’ echo that specific feeling.”
Within the disorientating experience, Magnuson’s vocals manage to be somehow both open and wry. A playfulness which communicates genuine feelings below the surface, like the relationship between close friends.
Don’t Budge is out via Earth Libraries on 2nd November and you can pre-order it now.
Album art by Keegan Vangorder