Thea Martin, artist behind the project short snarl, has just announced a limited release vinyl pressing of their debut album Gossamer Songs.
The vinyl is to be released through Hobbledehoy, a label – or, as they put it, “an art project disguised as a business” – based on Kaurna land that channels their energy into supporting exceptional emerging artists.
Short Snarl is Martin’s first public foray into songwriting, after spending years making a name for themself in the Adelaide scene by lending their singular violin skills to an immense range of projects, such as Twine, Keeskea, Cagefly, War Room, Wake In Fright, and Eyrie. The band also features V Marsoupolous of Keeskea and Sam Wilson of Wake In Fright.
Gossamer Songs was first released on streaming platforms in mid-June. An almost entirely DIY home recording, the four tracks form a unified whole, a cohesive project that allows Martin to seek strength in vulnerability and to find intimacy through fragility.
For a debut album, Gossamer Songs is startlingly advanced and self-assured, a gentle but gripping sonic meditation on gender, shame, love, and actualised identities.
The 12-inch also boasts alternative cover art shot by Eamonn Hayes-Goldsmith of artist Christina Lauren. In mellow dappled lighting, Lauren is framed by leafy greens and velvety roots, an enchanting image that befits the album’s tender sound.
Martin is passionate about physical mediums, about art being a tangible thing, something to hold onto, so the announcement of this physical release is exceptionally exciting.
“I’m just so passionate about DIY culture, and I think, particularly in the music industry, there’s such a move away from that – or we’re being told there’s a move away from that by corporate interests,” they stated at the album launch.
“There’s no reason that advances in technology need to take away from that. Both can coexist. I think making things is such an important part of how people find their feet as emerging artists.”
The 12-inch is now available for preorder – and every preorder of the album is accompanied with an instant download.
The official physical release is slated for mid-November.
