CQAF 2025

Lael Neale’s minimalist drone pop draws inspiration from the Transcendentalists, the high lonesome sound of primitive American gospel music & the alienation of modern life. Since signing with Sub Pop in 2020, she has split her time between rural Virginia and Los Angeles in addition to extensive touring throughout Europe and select shows in the U.S.

In collaboration with producer and accompanist Guy Blakeslee, Neale has created two internationally acclaimed home-recorded albums. They have recently completed a third which is slated for release in 2025.

“A unique, boldly weird proposition, and one that proudly carries the faint hint of tractor grease. Half of it comes on like cult 70s folk artist Karen Dalton hanging out with the Velvet Underground and Suicide, while the rest offers somewhat more modern balladry, placing her more in the world of Angel Olsen and Cat Power.” – THE GUARDIAN

“Neale is imaginative, but she’s steeped in songwriting craft and she knows her way round a whopping chorus.”★★★★ – MOJO

“The simplicity is part of what makes her record so beautiful; just her voice, her words, her electric guitar, and her omnichord are enough to put the listener in a trance.” – SPIN

“She’s managed to infuse a very done old female singer-songwriter, emotive approach with fresh abandon. She abandons a lot of the traditional instrumentation and doesn’t often bother with a beat and just kind of lets the whole feeling of the thing go into a place that suddenly doesn’t sound like it’s of the industry. And I like her record.” – Iggy Pop (BBC Radio)