The recording project of Melbourne-based songwriter Tamara Westwood, Freya has been putting out music since 2016, beginning with her debut EP, Attic. Since, Westwood has released a total of three EPs and one full-length, utilising various styles and genres as she explores the possibilities of her sound. Touching upon emo, pop, shoegaze, math rock and ambient, the Freya sound has been expansive and ambitious, and never quite settled into any neat pigeonhole.
However, beneath this fluidity, the work is united by an intimate, personal brand of songwriting that transcends genre, meaning Westwood has carved out a a central identity around which the experimentation can take place. A brand new full-length coming this spring on Fox Food Records, The Fifth feels both a new avenue of exploration and, through a considered commitment to direct, emotional lyrics, a consolidation of the Freya ideals.
Today, we’re delighted to share the lead single, ‘Breath and Chime’. Opening with an ambient hum, the track soon emerges with an insistent urgency, though this is balanced with the nostalgic edge of shoegaze. As such, the track is pitched somewhere between dream pop and emo—a genre Westwood has labelled ‘dreamo’—which manages to pair a keen sense of motion with a relaxed atmosphere. The result is something of a living contradiction, a song capable of both quickening your pace and slowing you down. A challenge or a comfort, morphing to meet your requirements.
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The Fifth is going to be released on the 11th May via Fox Food Records and you can pre-order it now via Bandcamp.
