Debbie Neigher’s career is marked by an inherent lust for joy. A sought-after keys player and vocalist, Neigher has toured with pop icons Demi Lovato and Marina, Grammy-winner Daya, and indie darlings Suki Waterhouse and Ezra Furman in addition to cultivating her project Lapel. Now, on Brutal Joy, Neigher blends her taste for pop catharsis with incisive self-reflection as she questions how to nurture and protect joy in the face of systems that seek to tear it away.
The kinetic pleasure of Brutal Joy is like a gasp for air after being held underwater—ecstatic, but not frivolous. This is hard-won joy, the thrill of arriving when you might not have. That grief and pleasure are so intertwined in these songs is a reflection of Neigher’s personal journey as a woman, activist, and artist, as well as the greater context in which the songs were made. Written and recorded in the arc surrounding the pandemic, Brutal Joy became a vehicle for Neigher to exercise her agency. Studying production and drum programming in between community organizing and solo living room dance parties to release the heaviness of her days, Neigher produced alongside Andrew Lappin (Anderson .Paak, Marina, L’Rain) and invited friends to record remotely.
The result is a collection of songs steeped with yearning for freedom as much as they effortlessly provide a sense of it. They remind us of our responsibility to preserve our own joy, and the bounty that awaits if we remain tender in the fight.
"Just a Little Bit More" is the fourth single from Lapel's upcoming "Brutal Joy" EP, out November 3, 2023.
I feel like everyone can see
The grief all over me
Like something stuck between my teeth
I’m the only one who doesn’t see
The pain spikes like a fever in the evening
But no one wants to diagnose a feeling
I turn up the music in my headphones like a morphine drip
I sink back into my seat and baby I begin to slip
Oh, oh, oh-ah-oh, ah-oh-oh
(Come on girl just a little bit more)
Over the hill and through that door
Come on girl just a little bit more
Over the hill and through that door
Over the hill and through that door
Come on girl just a little bit more
Over the hill and through that door
Come on girl just a little bit more
I didn’t think I had much left
Since the forest fire in my chest
Every nerve is burnt from where you stepped
There’s a curve of ashes where you slept
But in the belly of my belly I dug down until I found
A well I didn’t know I had, buried underground
It’s gonna take a ton of trips till I can put this fire out
But I never would have found it if you hadn’t thrown me down
Oh, oh, oh-ah-oh, ah-oh-oh
Over the hill and through that door
Come on girl just a little bit more
Over the hill and through that door
Over the hill and through that door
Come on girl just a little bit more
Over the hill and through that door
Come on girl just a little bit more
Over the hill and through that door
Come on girl just a little bit more
Over the hill and through that door
Over the hill and through that door
Come on girl just a little bit more
Over the hill and through that door
Come on girl just a little bit more
SeaweedSway is a collaborative evolving project by Jessie Woletz & many incredible friends over the years, encouraging
community through music gatherings especially.
The poem of "SeaweedSway" sprouted in a convo between Karl Blau & Jessie in 2007, when Karl opened for BrightBlack Morning Light at the Great American Music Hall. The music encouraged seaweed-like movement in the room....more
Proceeds from this excellent new darkambient/neofolk comp from LEFT/FOLK goes to benefit American Near East Refugee Aid. Bandcamp New & Notable Jan 10, 2024
Stark, folk-derived songs built on brittle acoustic guitars that conjure the image of a fire burning in the distance on a dark night. Bandcamp New & Notable Oct 8, 2022
supported by 5 fans who also own “Just A Little Bit More”
Wow, just wow. Have already played several tracks from this album on The Illicit Grooves radio Show but just know I need it on vinyl too. The Gary Bartz track is so good but then again so is every other track. Bob Hill Illicit Grooves