Official Claire / Lavender Blue / Blithe

Chicago singer-songwriter Official Claire combines laid-back indie rock with whispery folk and incisive, often witty lyrics that bite beneath a floral surface. The five songs on the 2024 EP Midnight Dickbiter reveal an artist comfortable recounting run-ins with the prying eyes of mediocre men under fluorescent big‑box lights as well as confessing hopes for true love and connection. She recorded the EP with drummer Quin Kirchner and multi-instrumentalist LeRoy Bach, crediting herself simply as “Claire.”

Lavender Blue is the songwriting and guitar project of Kayla Zuskin. The band features Mike Henry Johnson on pedal steel and synthesizers, Mary Steinbrecher on electric bass and Jack Victor on drums and occasional keys. Their music is best described as slowcore and alternative indie with a dash of Americana; they are currently recording their second full-length LP.

Blithe are avl indie art rock with hauntingly girlish undertones full of ancient rage and love.