Myra Lee Share New Single ‘Dean’ Ahead of Debut Release ‘Capture The Flag’
Brooklyn alt-rock trio Myra Lee have shared ‘Dean,’ the second single from their debut release ‘Capture The Flag,’ out June 26.
Formerly known as Dino Expedition, the band now takes its name from Cat Power’s 1996 record ‘Myra Lee.’ The lineup is Tahlia Amanson on vocals and guitar, Aiden Velazquez on bass, and McCabe Teems on drums. Their sound sits in the scuffed-up lineage of 90s indie rock, with traces of Yo La Tengo, Pavement, Electrelane, and Sonic Youth running through the feedback, open tunings, and loose-limbed tension.
‘Capture The Flag’ was recorded in two days at a basement studio on the Lower East Side. The band tracked six songs live with engineer Jeremy Harris, whose credits include Devendra Banhart, Hand Habits, and Allegra Krieger. Calvin Lauber, known for work with Boygenius and Julien Baker, mixed and mastered the sessions in Memphis.
‘Dean’ is one of the record’s darkest cuts, with distorted guitar and heavy drums pressing in around Amanson’s vocal. The song is rooted in a childhood memory involving her youngest sister, Ondine, who survived several near-death experiences before the age of two.
“My youngest sister, Ondine, had multiple near death experiences before she was 2 years old,” Amanson says. “I wrote ‘Dean’ specifically highlighting the one summer when my mother brought us to the docks to go swimming. She handed Ondine to my other sister, who didn’t catch her and Ondine fell into the water, sinking beneath the surface unable to swim. We thought we lost her, again.”
‘Across Capture The Flag,’ Myra Lee write through alcoholism, sexuality, grief, and memory without sanding off the rough edges.
Headline photo: Laila Holmes
