Daughter

It’s been three years since British indie-folk band Daughter first entranced listeners with their debut album, If You Leave. This year, the dreamy, melancholy vocals of Elena Tonra and bandmembers Igor Haefeli and Remi Aguilella return with their 10-track album, Not To Disappear.

This time, the trio departs from the poetic hallmarks that anchored their debut in favor of a more experimental sound. “We wanted to contrast with Elena’s human side and make it a little bit more like a city,” Haefeli says. “In a city, you feel very lonely, you don’t really relate to these huge buildings and the people around you. This record is about those emotions.”

The band has long been known for the depth of emotion in their lyrics. “Youth” and “Smother,” their two most popular singles to date, deal with broken relationships, the weight of coming of age in an uncertain world and a longing to return to innocence.

But part of Daughter’s success is how they protect their mystery. Singer-songwriter Elena Tonra keeps the inspiration for her lyrics to herself and doesn’t share their deeper truths even with her bandmates. “What we found as we started recording those songs was that people were relating to quite a deep level,” Haefeli says. “[Even if] those stories were the same as the ones Elena lived or not. She keeps the meanings of those songs secret so people don’t lose their personal interpretations.”

Why we’re fans:
The true indie sound in Not To Disappear lets you sink into a multifaceted emotional experience while remaining accessible enough for mass audiences.

For fans of:
Ben Howard, Keaton Henson, The xx