Stream: Lael Neale, ‘Born in the Summer’

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Lael Neale

At one point on her debut album, singer-songwriter Lael Neale confesses, “I don’t know what I am.” At times over the 12 tracks of the deceptively titled “I’ll Be Your Man,” it’s stunning to hear her try to work it out. The first single from the L.A.-based artist, who was reared on a farm in the hills of Virginia, is a woozy slice of psychedelia, “Born in the Summer,” which recalls the psych-folk meditations of Miranda Lee Richards. “I had a sadness called aging / I had a sadness to be free,” Neale sings, in a voice a bit reminiscent of Edie Brickell, one of the album’s many lyrical twists that suggest there was real pain in her growing pains. Neale’s collection of confessionals was produced by Marlon Rabenreither (Gold Star) and features contributions from him, along with Carlos Laszlo, Tommy Schobel, Kyle Vicioso, Brady Leffler, Erik Arvinder and John Schreffler. “I’ll Be Your Man” is out July 10.

||| Stream: “Born in the Summer”

||| Also: Stream the album in full

||| Live: Lael Neale celebrates her album release with a show July 11 at El Cid, supported by Tashaki Miyaki and Willoughby.

Photo by Piper Ferguson