While you might not know her own music yet, regular readers will likely have already heard of Steph Green as she plays on recent records from both Pony Hunt and Duff Thompson, both of which I’ve covered previously. Steph is currently building towards the release of her debut solo album, Thanks For That, due out in January next year via Mashed Potato Records. Ahead of that release, today Steph is sharing the second track to be lifted from the album, Next Place, alongside its excellent surrealist stop-motion video.

Like all of Thanks For That, Next Place was recorded in New Orleans, with Duff Thompson engineering and co-producing alongside Steph. Although the album was recorded across various houses through the city, the pair always worked direct to tape, giving the project a certain nostalgia, that’s matched in some of the musical influences on show. Here those influences manifest in the bright, and in places deliciously loud, distorted-guitars, which bring to mind 90’s musical behemoths like The Pixies or early-Modest Mouse. What lifts the song beyond a retro-pastiche is Steph’s easy, echoing vocals, which bring to mind modern contemporaries like Julia Jacklin or Lucy Dacus as her words set out to, “make you both laugh and feel the good kind of crappy”.

There’s always something special about a musician who’s existed on the sidelines of other people’s records emerging into the light, and Steph Green is no exception. A song to fall in love with, open-ended enough to let your mind run wild with possibilities, with a musical flourish that’s at once forward thinking and delightfully familiar. It’s an early shout, but don’t be surprised if Thanks For That is one of 2022’s first great records.

Thanks For That is out January 14th via Mashed Potato Records. For more information on Steph Green visit https://www.stephgreensongs.com/.