Described as “Queen meets Phoebe Bridgers,” Tessa Forrest creates epic bedroom pop like nothing you’ve heard before.
By Graeme Smith
Recorded at home with just an MXL990 mic and a laptop, her new single Sunrise Hunters opens with a melancholic lushness that defies its lo-fi creation. As ever, Forrest’s vocals captivate, giving us charm and emotion in abundance. As the track progresses, it grows in stature, becoming powerfully epic.
“I wanted to do something like what Queen did in Bohemian Rhapsody or Billie and Finneas did in Happier Than Ever,” says Forrest. “I wanted to see if I could do a tempo change that would sound natural; that was kind of a quest I made for myself.
“Sometimes we make ourselves believe that we can change our looks, move out of our town, and build this whole new personality, but the truth is, we can’t really escape the past. It will always follow us. But I think sometimes it is a good thing—if we’re not trying to hide it, to run from it, then it could protect us, some core part of our personalities that makes us us.”
In 2024, Tessa Forrest hit our radar through two releases under the name Tessa And Friends. No one’s getting out unbroken (giving up my ghost) gave us fresh punk rock while The Loser Gets Set Free was ABBA-inspired power pop.
Sunrise Hunters is out now, and you can give it a listen below.