Lael Neale - Must Be Tears

What this video is

Released April 18, 2023, 'Must Be Tears' arrived three days before Star Eaters Delight, Lael Neale's second Sub Pop album, forged during two years of self-imposed rural isolation in Virginia following the pandemic. The video and album sit at the intersection of post-pandemic re-emergence and a broader indie-folk resistance to digital overload — Neale notably still uses a flip phone and recorded the album to…

Why it matters

Represents a significant document of 2020s indie folk's analog-minimalist wing: a self-directed, low-budget, high-intentionality video by an artist whose entire aesthetic resists digitization. The Mellotron-driven sound, muted warm palette, and near-static visual language collectively mark a…

The director

Lael Neale is a singer-songwriter signed to Sub Pop Records. She debuted on Sub Pop with Acquainted With Night (2021), recorded in 2019, followed by Star Eaters Delight (2023). She has self-directed multiple music videos across the Star Eaters Delight…