If you happen to be a fan of indie rock in the vein of Mitski, Snail Mail, Samia, or Indigo De Souza, let me be the first to introduce you to your new favorite artist, ADDIE. It’s possible you might already be familiar with ADDIE, the musical project of Boston-based 19 year old singer/songwriter/bassist/producer Adeline Vamenta. Months after its release in 2018, her breakout track “Drive Slow” (stream below) blew up on Spotify after finding its way on Discover Weekly playlists. By the latest count, the song has been streamed over 1.5 million times on the platform. Clocking in at just over 6 minutes, it’s notable that Vamenta originally wrote the song the summer after her freshman year… of high school. It plays like the climax to a Broadway musical and I liken it to “There Is a Light That Never Goes Out” for the Gen Z set. Written about her first crush on a girl in high school, it’s universally relatable in its theme of yearning for a moment or particular feeling to never end.
ADDIE’s debut LP Crater Lake is set to be released on June 24th (pre-save the album here). On the verge of her 20s, the process of writing and recording Crater Lake has been a celebration of packing up her teenage years and wrapping it up in an album. “Crush Me” is a new Crater Lake track that debuted last month and ADDIE just recently released the associated music video (see below). Filmed in various locations (including a rooftop and a basement show), it features haunts familiar to those in the Boston DIY scene – and it looks like they had a blast filming it! Even more recently, ADDIE released “All The Sun“. The song is about the isolation the artist experienced during the height of the pandemic and relates some of the guilt she felt focusing on music while her peers were “out saving the world”. For you bass enthusiasts out there, you’ll be delighted to know the harmonic riff in the track is a nod to “Portrait of Tracy” by Jaco Pastorius.
Fresh off playing a date with Singaporean indie rock band Subsonic Eye at the Red Room in Boston, ADDIE is about to embark on her first ever tour where they’ll be hitting spots in the NE and Mid-Atlantic. Locally, they’ll be playing Cecil Records in Philly on 7/9; however, we’re ecstatic to announce that they’ll be playing Flemington DIY on 7/13 along with Machinery of the Human Heart, Mango Core, and Sofia Devitt (flyer below). Admission is $10 at the door (cash or Venmo) – make sure to get there early to catch all the bands!
After the tour, they’ll be playing NICE, a fest in Somerville, MA – it’ll be their first ever festival performance. While the lineup consists of mostly of local Boston artists, it’s being headlined by Speedy Ortiz. As far as what’s next, Vamenta hopes to take some down time as she wraps up her current era of music and looks forward to her 20s and exploring a more heavily produced approach to her writing and recording (compared to what she calls her current very “live sound”). Vamenta also notes that she’d love to work with and/or go on tour with Indigo De Souza and MUNA. I can definitely see that happening for this young artist. Best to jump on the wagon now before TikTok ruins it for you gatekeeper types :)
