Andrew Veeder on August 26th, 2015

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The Atlanta-born, Montana-raised, Los Angeles-based artist HANA is having a great year. A few months ago, she was touring as a backup singer for Grimes and Lana Del Rey, and next week, she’ll hit the road again, this time as the opening act for Purity Ring. The 26-year-old, full name Hana Pestle, has been hunkering down in an old arts district warehouse writing and recording new material, and while she has only released two tracks so far, both are rather lovely. Her first, “Clay,” which Lorde described as “too beautiful and sparkling for words,” was written, performed and self-recorded, and co-produced by Michael Diamond, (aka Blood Diamonds). It’s a break-up number that puts the spotlight on her ethereal voice against a lush backdrop before the drums come in at the chorus, beginning with the lyrics, “If I could I would erase it all / You sat on your high horse and watched me fall / You got so many stories that you hide / Everything’s so easy when it’s all a lie.” The second track, “Avalanche,” also co-produced by Blood Diamonds, hits a little harder with muffled percussion, but shows even more of a grace and range to her vocals, especially in the chorus as she sings, “You say you wanted me to hold my own / But now I know / I was under your control / All the ways that I could haunt you now / Your grip is slipping fast / Now baby I’m an avalanche.” HANA has been working on new music and remixes, with the hopes of releasing more songs later this year, and a proper collection next year.

||| Stream: “Avalanche” and “Clay”

||| Live: HANA headlines the Lyric Theatre on Thursday night.