Sweetness

On her first album of alt-pop anthems – 2022’s gorgeous, folk-infused When I’m Alone – girlpuppy (ne| Becca Harvey) often felt like she was working in the shadow of her collaborators. Made on the other side of a relationship where she often felt marginalized, Sweetness felt like the right project for the 25-year-old Atlanta-based singer-songwriter to rethink her creative approach and work solely from her own lyrical and melodic ideas. The result of this process was a darker, more texturally expansive record than its prede-cessor, full of heart-rending songs about pushing back against self-blame and doubt. From its heavy-duty sonics to its naturally flowing melodies to its emotionally generous lyrics, every element of Sweetness exudes confidence, capturing Harvey relishing raw creativity and trusting her inclinations. The record takes place within that moment all artists wait for: when their “voice” becomes so clear, they realize they can just open their mouth and start speaking in it. Freed from the nagging insecurity that she couldn’t be a songwriter with-out playing an instrument – she cites The National’s Matt Berninger as an inspiration – Harvey began Sweetness by recording full-length acapella voice memos. To find a backdrop for the vocals, Harvey delved into her diverse, lifelong set of musical reference points, from the country and Top 40 pop she grew up on in small-town Georgia to the later favorites that expanded her idea of what songwriting could achieve: Elliott Smith, Lana Del Rey, Yo La Tengo, and more. With the help of Asheville-based producer/co-writer Alex Farrar and additional co-writers Tom Sinclair and Holden Fincher, Harvey pinpointed a sweet spot between shoegaze, dream-pop, and pop-rock anthems from the turn of the millennium. Mixing the playful with the devastating, Harvey coasts on cathartic waves of emotion and monster hooks throughout Sweetness – a momentum which is guaranteed to push her to the front of the ranks of today’s most fearless rising indie-pop singer-songwriters.