Embracing the Darkness: Tanager’s ‘Haunted’ Single Explores the Depths of the Mind, While Pushing the Boundaries of Indie Music
Michigan, United States
Release Date: 2024-03-30
Check out Haunted here: Haunted Single Link
“Haunted” is a new single that a band from Michigan, Tanager, has just dropped into this whirlwind of beautiful indie sound. Formed in 2011, the band would begin to build a following by mixing shoegaze with garage rock and pop, making their debut on an EP. Their latest release only further demonstrates the band’s ability to push and cross genre boundaries.
Crafted in their basement studio, “Haunted” is a hauntingly beautiful track that plunges themes of guilt, isolation, and the struggle to find oneself. Leading with airy vocals from Elly Daftuar, singing along to the band’s signature guitar riffs and drum beats, one finds entrancing music.
The band’s origin goes as such: “The band’s journey began when Elly, while attending art school in 2011, released their debut EP ‘The Attic Dweller.’ The EP, recorded in her childhood home with the help of her longtime friend and recording engineer Rishi Daftuar, was getting critical acclaim and the attention of drummer Mary Fraser.”. With the addition of Rishi on guitar, the trio became the core of Tanager’s live show for the next eight years.
The group continued to tour heavily, and, after releasing their first full-length, “Hz Donut,” in 2018, Elly took time away from touring in order to focus further on his songwriting. After a two-year break from the live shows, the band reformed in 2023 with new bassist Devon Clausen and began recording its next album. “Haunted” is the lead single to their debut record, offering a promising look at the band’s sound growing and expanding.
The “Haunted” music video also makes more explicit the haunting suggested by the lyrics; directed by Elly, the video shows the band wandering over fog-dripping landscapes, unmistakably representing their image of wandering and being caught inside one’s own head.
Tanager’s music is a tribute to such an evolution that the indie genre has seen over time, mixing different influences, with the end product being original in its very own unique sound. Fans of bands like My Bloody Valentine and The Jesus and Mary Chain will find much to appreciate in Tanager’s shoegaze roots. Pop sensibilities à la Lana Del Rey and Lorde round out Tanager’s appeal for today.
In a nutshell, “Haunted” by Tanager is indie music worth listening to. The combination of a haunting sound with thoughtful lyrics and a compelling music video should make this single a contender for the next big thing by some critics off of their upcoming album. Tanager just keeps going one step further and blazing their own trail, and who knows where this courageous path will lead them next?
Tanager Bio
Crafting a distinctive sound in their basement studio, Tanager blends shoegaze and garage rock influences with ambitious pop production. Elly Daftuar (née Schmitt) dreamed up the project while attending art school, releasing The Attic Dweller EP in 2011. She recorded the debut in her childhood home, enlisting the help of longtime friend and recording engineer Rishi Daftuar for mixing.
Following the release, a live solo performance by Elly caught the attention of Mary Fraser (Child Sleep, Virga), who offered her support on drums. It’s also around this time that Elly and Rishi started dating, and soon Rishi joined Tanager on guitar, forming the trio that would serve as the band’s live core for the next eight years.
The band recorded and released their first full-length, Hz Donut, in 2018. After that, Elly mostly took a hiatus from live Tanager performances to immerse herself in songwriting. The band resurfaced in 2023 to work on a new album with the exciting addition of bassist Devon Clausen (Idle Ray, Goodyhead). “Haunted” is the lead single from the new record.
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