‘somebody in hell loves you’, the new album from Phoenix based indie singer songwriter Sydney Sprague is out today. The 11 tracks follow 2021’s 'maybe i will see you at the end of the world' which caught the attention of Jimmy Eat World, Dashboard Confessional, Oso Oso, and The Front Bottoms who brought her out on tour for a bunch of their runs. On ‘somebody in hell loves you’, Sydney channels her sadness, anxiety, and existential dread through driving guitars, shimmering melodies, and the deceptively sweet weapons of indie pop-rock and keen observation.
The album, out today, includes the singles “smiley face”, “overkill”, “nobody knows anything” and “terrible places”, which is accompanied by a new music video out today. Watch it HERE.
“terrible places” is anxiety encapsulated in a song. “It’s about imagining the worst thing possible that could happen to you or someone you love,” says Sydney. “It’s what goes on in my brain all day, every day. I’ll immediately jump to the worst conclusion if something feels a little off. One day my mom called me and said my dad wasn’t answering his phone. I called him, too. Only a few hours passed, but I was convinced he died on his way to work or something like that. He was fine. I wrote the song about the real-time, spiraling inner "monologue when I’m convinced of the worst.”
Self-aware with a knowing injection of dark humor, her songs summon the best of 90s alt-rock and classic power-pop without sacrificing a melancholy befitting of the end times. Her music is intimate, vulnerable, confrontational, autobiographical, and strangely uplifting. Her sophomore record, ‘somebody in hell loves you’, is as devilishly saccharine as the title implies, boldly accessible and smart.
Her music caught the attention of publications like Kerrang!, DIY, CLASH, NPR, Refinery29, Under The Radar, Atwood Magazine, UPROXX and more who steadily kept her songs in their New Music Friday highlights of the week. She’s also been added to Spotify’s top indie playlists such as Fresh Finds and Amazon’s Fresh Indie.
When I started writing songs for this record during covid lockdown it felt like the movie had ended and the credits had rolled on life but we were all still here for some reason,” explains Sydney going into the process of recording the new album. “Everything was just floating in this void and because of that I felt like I had all the time in the world to just do whatever I wanted. It was weirdly the freest I've ever felt. Writing became a way to entertain myself and make myself laugh instead of a way to wallow. I spent a lot of time reflecting on the past and the people around me and processing things I’d never been able to. I was able to be more honest than I’d ever been in my songs. The fact that I'm able to share them now feels a little scary because when I was writing them they were really just for me, but I hope they can bring people the same sense of escape that they brought me.”
Stream ‘somebody in hell loves you’: https://orcd.co/sihly
Sydney Sprague recently finished a tour directly supporting Pool Kids with Chase Petra and just announced her first ever headline tour, kicking off November 9 in San Diego, CA and going through December 15, ending in her hometown of Phoenix, AZ at The Rebel Lounge.
WATCH THE MUSIC VIDEO FOR “TERRIBLE PLACES”
Sydney Sprague - terrible places (Official Music Video) - YouTube