Somehow I’ve had several songs by Bleach Lab on my main playlist and haven’t put anything about them here. Time to change that. Here are three songs from their Studio Session EP, and it’s just gorgeous indie rock. This was released in December 2023, and the songs are from their debut record Lost In A Rush Of Emptiness.
It’s a perfect collection of songs and a perfect sampler of what Bleach Lab does so well – melodic indie/dream pop with lyrics suggestive of some dark stuff. “All Night” seems to be written from the perspective of an obsessed girlfriend. “Counting Empties” is addressing someone with a drinking problem.
Then there’s Bleach Lab’s cover of Mazzy Star’s “Fade Into You”:
It’s extremely faithful to the original and Jenna Kyle channels Hope Sandoval incredibly well. You’d be forgiven for thinking it’s an original — it just feels like a perfect fit for this band.
Finally thsi week I put on the whole record Lost In A Rush Of Emptiness and it’s terrific. It’s more of what they’re so good at: gentle and melodic low-key indie rock with thoughful lyrics and gorgeous production. The three original songs from the EP are present, in slightly different form (I prefer the Studio Session recordings, but maybe it’s only because I heard them first), with eight more that are cut from the same cloth. There’s a sense of melody and musicianship to these songs that sets them apart from similar bands. “Everything at Once” is a good example of it. There’s so much beauty in the details here:
They released 3 EPs in the leadup to the record, which I also liked digging into. Their first EP, 2021’s A Calm Sense of Surrounding, has a slightly less polished sound to it, while Kyle’s voice reminds me of Sarah McLachlan, especially on “Lighthouse”:
It’s been a year since the release of Lost in a Rush of Emptiness, and Bleach Lab is gently teasing new music on their Instagram, but nothing official yet.
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