Atlanta may be known as the hip hop capital of the world more than it is for it’s indie rock scene, but that doesn’t mean that our city lacks special moments within the indie world. Case in point – Friday night’s album release show at the revamped 529 in East Atlanta Village. The exceptional album being celebrated? Neighbor Lady’s debut LP, Maybe Later, officially released on May 11th via Friendship Fever.
There are some shows that as soon as you walk into the room, you know that something special is going down. There is just a different energy in the room than usual, an excitement to catch and support a promising new artist as they officially announce their arrival by releasing their debut album. Over the last few years I’ve been lucky enough to attend a few of these special moments around Atlanta, Mothers’ debut album release show at The EARL immediately comes to mind, as does Algiers’ US release show for their debut at The EARL also. You can certainly add this show to the list.
What’s a sure sign that you are at the right show? When you see multiple musicians from other bands you dig scattered throughout the crowd. Neighbor Lady’s show on Friday had no shortage of musicians there to show their support, many who also attended the Album Release Show the night before at Caledonia Lounge in Athens where it all started for Neighbor Lady. Yes, Neighbor Lady is an Athens band. And yes, Neighbor Lady is also an Atlanta band, where most of the band members currently reside. It’s those unique ties to the two intertwined local scenes that was on full display Friday night at 529 as the venue was sold out and having to reject some latecomers at the door.
Like many Athens/Atlanta bands, Neighbor Lady itself is a hodgepodge mix of the scene: Emily Braden on vocals/guitar, Merideth Hanscom on bass (Semicircle, Party Favor), Jack Blauvelt on guitar/keys (Dana Swimmer, Chief Scout), and Andrew McFarland on drums/vocals (Semicircle, Co Co Ri Co, Reptar). Built around Braden’s songwriting and vocals, the other members have all been in bands that are quite a bit different from Neighbor Lady, though you can certainly find some small similarities throughout each member’s list of former bands. It’s a big part of what makes Neighbor Lady so great and unique.
It’s not just musician’s from their local scene hyping up Neighbor Lady though. The band has already played Savannah Stopover and Treefort Festival, and it was recently announced that they will play Austin City Limits Music Festival in October. With write ups and interviews in sites such as Fader, Paste Magazine, GoldFlakePaint, Interview Magazine and more. It’s an exciting time for Neighbor Lady, and they showed on Friday that it’s all well deserved.
Dot.s
Before Neighbor Lady took the stage, they had special guests Deep State and Dot.s play sets to get the crowds hype. If you’ve ever caught Dot.s live, you already know that they got the crowd dancing and sweating long before Neighbor Lady took the stage. By the time Dot.s ended their set, 529 was officially sold out, and the whole place was in a festive mood as some old R&B and hip hop hits blasted from the sound system. While Dot.s broke down their stage, and Neighbor Lady set up theirs, the room was given an ambience with a bright red and orange fluorescent sign with the band’s name as Outkast blared over the speakers. We were all ready and hype.
When the band finally took the stage, they were ready to celebrate themselves. It was a gathering of friends and family scattered throughout the crowd, and Neighbor Lady had the champagne to celebrate with all of them. The members of the band all took swigs and passed out bottles throughout the crowd to join in.
And then the band jumped right into the music, playing their 7 song album straight through and starting with lead single “Let It Bleed”. Starting with Emily’s haunting vocals on the song, you can feel the intensity building, and as soon as the full band jumps in with Braden’s piercing lyrics “You say you’d do anything for me, but you hardly even know me”, you could already tell that this show was going to be on another level. “Let It Bleed” is the perfect intro into Neighbor Lady, showing their unique and scorching country-tinged indie rock sound. The song is pure emotion, and the band gave in completely to the tension in the song, which translated to goosebumps throughout the venue.
Up next was the album’s second track “Fine”, which takes from some of the mystical magic that is Stevie Nicks, and had the crowd dancing and feeling every little progression from Jack’s agonizing guitar. The third song, “Consider Me Mean” slowed things down to just a nice sway throughout the venue as Emily’s vocals were at the very forefront while the song builds throughout. There is a sweetness within Emily’s voice, but a deep sadness that makes her such a standout. “Oh Honey” was next, what probably feels on the surface like their most upbeat tune and certainly had the crowd dancing along. The song shows off a snarky side to their lyrics, and had the crowd singing right along. At that point, Neighbor Lady had the crowd in the palm of their hand and they could do no wrong. The crowd and band were in sync, a beautiful thing.
“I Wish Nothing” was next, a foray into more of Emily’s alt-country influences and unique vocals. “Silently, Separately” could come right out of a Tarantino Western movie with vivid and fierce guitar. Last from the album, was the deep and all consuming “Wring Me Out”, heightened by Emily’s powerful and passionate delivery, with guitars that were soaring off every wall in 529, a song that showed how powerful Neighbor Lady is.
That was the end of Neighbor Lady’s debut album, but this crowd wasn’t going to let them quit, and the band still had a few more songs in-store, playing 3 more originals not on the album. That’s all they’ve got so far, but the festivities weren’t done just yet as the band took on Sheryl Crow’s “If It Makes You Happy” for their final act. Each member took on a different part of the song, and the crowd joined in for a joyous sing along of the chorus throughout.
Leaving 529 on Friday it was clear that we were apart of something special, particularly here in our local music scene, but also with a band that’s ready to make waves on a national scale. Having already drawn comparisons vocally to Patsy Cline, Dolly Parton, Kate Bush and Nancy Sinatra, Emily Braden could probably make a name for herself considering her vocals and striking lyrics, but surrounded by Jack, Merideth, and Andrew, the songs come alive as Neighbor Lady to make something compelling that stands out from the pack. This is a new band worth celebrating.
Check out more photos from the show by Mike Gerry:
Neighbor Lady Online:
Website // Facebook // Instagram // Bandcamp
Upcoming Neighbor Lady Tour Dates:
JUN 07 Family And Friends Album Release Thursday, 8:00PM Atlanta, GA @ The Cotton Club
JUL 16 Union Stage Monday, 8:00PM Washington, DC
JUL 17 The Camel Tuesday, 9:00PM Richmond, VA
JUL 18 Kings Wednesday, 10:00PM Raleigh, NC
JUL 19 The Royal American Thursday, 9:30PM Charleston, SC
SEP 29 Music Tastes Good Vol. 3! Saturday, 11:00AM Long Beach, CA
OCT 05 Austin City Limits Friday, 11:00AM Austin, TX
