Biography
Georgia quartet Neighbor Lady infused reflective indie rock with a noir-ish alt-country edge, drawing on dreamy reverb, drawling guitar lines, and the inherent twang in lead vocalist Emily Braden. Their debut full-length, Maybe Later, came out in 2018. On the follow-up, For the Birds, the band leaned further into muted, retro textures that surfaced in 2022.
Braden, who also pens most of the material, relocated to Athens after finishing high school and launched Neighbor Lady initially as a solo endeavor before crossing paths with guitarist and keyboardist Jack Blauvelt (Dana Swimmer). The project’s first single, “Consider Me Mean,” surfaced in 2016. By the next year the roster had stabilized around Braden, Blauvelt, bassist Merideth Hanscom (Semicircle), and drummer Andrew McFarland (Reptar), leading to early festival slots at AthFest and Savannah Stopover. During this stretch the group shifted its operations to Atlanta. The self-recorded Maybe Later appeared in May 2018 via Friendship Fever.
After Payton Collier took over bass duties from Hanscom, Neighbor Lady returned to the studio under producer Jason Kingsland (Belle and Sebastian, Courtney Marie Andrews). Tracking for the second album wrapped just ahead of the 2020 pandemic shutdowns, yet the band spent much of the following period sidelined from touring, refining arrangements and testing alternate takes. Noah Georgeson (Joanna Newsom, Cate Le Bon, Devendra Banhart) handled mixing duties on the polished sonic palette of For the Birds, which reached listeners through Park the Van in July 2022.
Braden, who also pens most of the material, relocated to Athens after finishing high school and launched Neighbor Lady initially as a solo endeavor before crossing paths with guitarist and keyboardist Jack Blauvelt (Dana Swimmer). The project’s first single, “Consider Me Mean,” surfaced in 2016. By the next year the roster had stabilized around Braden, Blauvelt, bassist Merideth Hanscom (Semicircle), and drummer Andrew McFarland (Reptar), leading to early festival slots at AthFest and Savannah Stopover. During this stretch the group shifted its operations to Atlanta. The self-recorded Maybe Later appeared in May 2018 via Friendship Fever.
After Payton Collier took over bass duties from Hanscom, Neighbor Lady returned to the studio under producer Jason Kingsland (Belle and Sebastian, Courtney Marie Andrews). Tracking for the second album wrapped just ahead of the 2020 pandemic shutdowns, yet the band spent much of the following period sidelined from touring, refining arrangements and testing alternate takes. Noah Georgeson (Joanna Newsom, Cate Le Bon, Devendra Banhart) handled mixing duties on the polished sonic palette of For the Birds, which reached listeners through Park the Van in July 2022.
Singles