Growing up, is there a soundtrack you can think of, which perfectly encapsulates your coming-of-age? Portland-based newcomer, Shaylee, is soon to release her own – a brand new album, Short-Sighted Security, which highlights the trials and tribulations every adolescent experiences.
Spanning thirteen songs, the Kill Rock Stars-signed artist tells the stories of failed relationships, growing pains, and falling short of your self-improvement goals. Through her candid lyrics and quivering vocals, Shaylee’s latest single release, “#1 Destroyer Fan,” perfectly encapsulates these unified themes. The track offers listeners an intimate journey into Shaylee’s mind, evoking a memory of an intense experience she wished she handled better. Akin to reading a diary entry, the release of “#1 Destroyer Fan” reads like a lonely cautionary tale set to the soundtrack of a deeply musical mind with a singular vision, making for an ambitious label debut that establishes Shaylee as a force all of its own.
The singer-songwriter has also released “Oblivion,” “Danger Decides” and “Ophelia” – three soul-baring tracks which vividly immerse the listener into darkness with their deft mixes of paranoid psych rock and ecstatic vocals.
Shaylee is a queer trans artist who grew up making music. The Portland-based artist, whose sound is reminiscent of Car Seat Headrest, (Sandy) Alex G and Cloud Nothings, has created an album which pays tribute to indie-music, interlaced with the jangly hooks of indie-pop and the grandiosity of post-rock. The album is the result of a dedicated and deep love for music. “I’ve had so much time to grow artistically, it feels like a culmination of all the work that I’ve done up until now,” she says of the record.
When speaking about the creative process behind her album, Shaylee shares how the entire album was created from the comforts of her living room in Portland during the first lockdown of the COVID-19 pandemic. From playing all of the guitars, drums and bass, to singing, mixing and editing each of the tracks, Shaylee’s intense precision and dedication is clear from the album’s outset.
Head below to listen to “#1 Destroyer Fan…”