New York, NY (Top40 Charts) This Friday, Indigo Sparke is releasing Hysteria, her new
Aaron Dessner-produced album, on Sacred Bones. The album was named one of the most anticipated albums of the fall by Pitchfork, Brooklyn Vegan, Top40-Charts.com, and The FADER called it "an astonishing listen." The album's singles "Pressure In My Chest," "Hysteria," and "Blue," showcase the album's rare and reflective power. It's a simultaneously nostalgic yet clear and complex collection that expands her sound and outlook.
If Sparke's acclaimed debut album Echo bore the mark of producer Adrianne Lenker's intimate, spectral approach, then Hysteria is comparatively full-bodied and warm like a raging fire, as Dessner's ornate instrumentation perfectly compliment Sparke's songwriting.
Hot on the heels of a recently wrapped tour supporting The National, Sparke is playing a record release show on Friday 10/7 at Brooklyn, NY's Public Records. The show is presented by Sound of Saving.
After moving back to New York from her native Australia in the spring of 2021, Sparke finished writing the album's 14 songs and decamped upstate with producer
Aaron Dessner.
"I just had a really strong intuitive gut feeling that I would do this album with Aaron. We had met once years before in Eau Claire so I asked my manager to reach out to him. When we first talked, we talked about co-writing from scratch, I did have a big folder of demos but was nervous to share them, but after he heard them he said, 'There's so much to work with in here already,'" Sparke recalls on how Dessner, who also contributes instrumentation along with multi-instrumentalist and long time collaborator Shahzad Ismaily and drummer Matt Barrick (The Walkmen, Muzz), got involved in bringing Hysteria to life.
"Aaron is such an incredible person, to feel his generosity and to feel him in my corner is a true gift. It definitely took a moment for me to get used to a different way of working and hand my trust and heart over to him and his vision but it also felt so natural and we became close friends in the process."
The connection felt intuitive for both Sparke and Dessner who recalls "I started hearing ideas listening to her voice almost immediately. We connected by phone and had a long talk. She was incredibly open and gracious and really it was creatively inspiring from the moment we started working. It always feels like some weird miracle when songs emerge that you want to listen to all the time -- and this was definitely the case with her record.
It feels cohesive and timeless and inspired to me in a way that I know I will keep coming back to. I think the chemistry is right." Centering Sparke's powerful vocals throughout, Hysteria is packed with big guitars and layered instrumentation that practically acts as the album's lungs, giving every note breath.
