– Announces EP ‘5K’
– Out March 31, 2023 via Winspear
– Hear “Races” now
Today Barrie has shared details of a new EP entitled ‘5K’, due for release on March 31st via Winspear. Alongside the news she has released new single “Races” and announced US live dates at Rough Trade NYC and SXSW.
Brooklyn-based musician and producer Barrie Lindsay, known simply as Barrie, has a passion for creating left-of-center pop music that reflects what The New York Times describes as “a kaleidoscopically vivid inner world.” She spends her days writing songs and tinkering in Logic, stockpiling her creations in a vast archive of folders and hard drives. When it came time to select the songs for her second LP, ‘Barbara’, she narrowed it down to sixteen tracks. As the record came together, it became clear that there would be two separate projects.
The first was ‘Barbara’, an emotionally charged collection of songs dealing with the loss of a parent, the love of a new partner, and finding one’s own identity that would go on to be deemed “one of the most complete pop full-lengths of 2022” (Billboard) and “an album that truly sounds like no other” (Consequence). Garnering wide praise, ‘Barbara’ saw Barrie’s artistic ambitions become emboldened. Barrie even reinvented her live show, adding group choreography that thrust her front and center during a run of headlining shows. It was her first time dancing in any organized fashion and put her in a vulnerable position, but it was a hit — she was invited to bring it on the road as an opener for both Alex G and Japanese Breakfast.
The remaining five tracks from the ‘Barbara’ sessions – more light-hearted and off-the-cuff – were compiled into a new project. An avid runner, Barrie named the EP 5K after the common foot race. Explains Barrie: “The music felt like a good arc for running. I want this music to be good company; steady and light enough. It’s literal and it’s metaphorical; this EP is meant to be your running partner for whatever form of 5K you’re doing.”
The first single from the collection is “Races”, where baroque daydream pop is set to a 12/8 time signature, with crashing drums and stately keyboards that swoon with giddy romance.
Other pre-order/pre-save links: https://lnk.to/barrie-5k
Speaking on the track, Barrie comments: “I finished the music for Races before the lyrics, and I was trying to figure out what to say. I got in a rabbit-hole about how when you get songs stuck in your head, they’re like these weird little mantras that you didn’t choose to take on, and how crazy it is that musicians have the opportunity to have a direct line into people’s heads like that. I was thinking about what phrases I’d want to implant. And what would be a good use of that kind of privilege. Obviously it doesn’t work exactly that way, but there was an element of experimenting with that in this song.”
Even though most people would finish listening to the project front to back before finishing a 5 kilometer run, the EP rewards repeated listens, revealing lovingly crafted details buried in each song. 5K showcases an artist in an exploratory mood, sketching out new sonic territory that remains true to the enveloping sound world that has become Barrie’s signature. While 5K links the supple dream pop of Barrie’s debut LP ‘Happy To Be Here’ to the more emotionally-grounded and experimental sounds of ‘Barbara’, it also points towards various avenues of possibility. It’s simply up to Barrie which road she runs down next.
‘5K’ track list:
1. Nocturne Interlude
2. Races
3. Unholy Appetite
4. Ghost World
5. Empty
