Lael Neale - Acquainted with Night

What this video is

Released February 19, 2021, this video was made during the COVID-19 pandemic, when Neale had returned to her family farm in rural Virginia from Los Angeles in April 2020. The homemade, Handycam-shot aesthetic reflects both the logistical constraints of the pandemic era and a deliberate philosophical stance: Neale's stated desire to 'step out of time entirely' rather than nostalgize the past. The album's themes —…

Why it matters

A landmark example of 2020s transcendental folk / space folk, 'Acquainted With Night' sits at the intersection of minimalist singer-songwriter tradition and avant-garde lo-fi aesthetics. The Omnichord-centered sound and self-shot Handycam video mark Neale as a key figure in a Sub Pop-backed wave…

The director

Lael Neale is a Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter who grew up on a farm in rural Virginia. She spent nearly a decade developing her songwriting in Los Angeles before signing to Sub Pop Records. Her album 'Acquainted With Night' (2021) was composed and…