Of all of the descriptors associated with Lea Thomas’ music, she would choose “free” as her favorite.
Between the open, sprawling instrumentation and lyrical themes rooted in nature, liberation is at the epicenter of the Brooklyn-based artist’s work. Her refuge since she can remember, Thomas said music offers her the ultimate feeling of freedom.
The highest compliment she could receive, she said, is someone experiencing that same feeling of freedom by listening to her own music.
“It’s what makes me feel free, and if that can unlock a sense of someone else’s liberation, then that’s awesome,” Thomas said.
Thomas’s newest single, “Hummingbird,” continues with these themes, conveying a sense of freedom and adventure through references to the natural world. The song, out now, is her latest release under Spirit House Records, which Thomas has been a part of since 2018. Founded in Portland in 2016, Spirit House is now based in Gainesville after a transfer of leadership earlier this year.
“Hummingbird” arrives as a follow-up to Thomas’s April 27 single “What Did The Music Sound Like,” an easy folk-rock jam touching on a transformative experience in the big city. Similar to its predecessor, “Hummingbird” is introspective, analyzing Thomas’s relationship with herself as time passes. But instead of a somber lamentation on life passing by, the song is celebratory, reveling in Thomas’s synchronicity with the world around her.
“My heart started beating to the song of the universe,” she sings at the onset of the chorus. It’s a re-affirmation of Thomas’s love for nature, something she said inspires both her songwriting and her general worldview. Originally from Maui, Thomas had been surrounded by nature her entire life. It wasn’t until she relocated to Brooklyn that she said she truly understood what nature meant to her.
“Finally being separated from that really strong connection to nature and living in an urban environment, it opened my eyes to how much my nervous system responds to being in the outdoors,” she said.
Instrumentally, “Hummingbird” returns to the soft rock roots Thomas said she established as a teenager, with influence from artists like Joni Mitchell and The Microphones. Acoustic strums paired with clean, reverb-soaked guitars, each overlapping the other; a smooth and simple bassline; commanding percussion courtesy of an echoing drum kit — the track is an exercise in classic rock elements with a hint of the blues and a soulful flair from the horn section at the back end.
Thomas’s style — a blend of folk rock and traditional indie, with a touch of ambient influence — is aligned with the vision of Spirit House Records, Founded by indie folk artist Johanna Warren and officially handed off to Gainesville’s Brandon Telg in January, Thomas said Spirit House was originally a “DIY artist collective,” but under Telg’s guidance, the label is transitioning toward a more technical approach.
“Although the label has been in operation for a few years, it is essentially starting over,” Telg said.
Telg, the label’s manager, said the purpose of Spirit House is shifting from an artist support network to a tangible business operation with the move to Gainesville. With experience in the music industry managing artists and running other music organizations such as MusicGNV, Telg said his goal is to facilitate all business endeavors — copyright, licensing, distribution and other revenue areas — to best support Spirit House artists.
The label operates under an artist-first ethos, something Telg said aims to keep artists at the forefront of all decisions. In an industry fraught with opportunistic executives and contracts that are almost unreadable, Telg said artists are often taken advantage of with their vision placed on the backburner in favor of what is deemed more profitable.
“Artists deserve better, and the industry can be better,” he said. “It doesn’t have to be exploitative.”
Telg added this approach stems not from the perspective of an executive or a manager, but a fan,– someone who genuinely enjoys the artist’s work. As a veteran of the Gainesville music scene, Telg said he’s passionate about both the managerial side of the industry and helping artists grow and develop.
This passion, he said, is at the root of Spirit House, and it’s why he looks forward to growing a community of artists as the label continues to expand.
“When you are doing something authentic, people will be drawn to it and will bring their authenticity to it as well,” Telg said.
Though not a Gainesville artist, Telg said Thomas’s pre-existing relationship with the label and indie folk sound made her the perfect candidate for the label’s first release since relocating to Gainesville. He said he was hooked after listening just once to a collection of unfinished demos.
As another exposure opportunity to a Gainesville audience, Thomas said she hopes listeners can feel the same joy she felt recording “Hummingbird,” and they take some of those feelings — self-analysis paired with unbridled freedom — for themselves.
“It was such a fun experience, and I just really hope that translates to people who get to listen to it,” Thomas said. “That they just enjoy it and it brings a little introspection.”
“Hummingbird” is now available on all streaming platforms. For more information on Lea Thomas, visit her website.
Contact Heather at hbushman@alligator.org. Follow her on Twitter @hgrizzl.
Heather Bushman is a fourth-year journalism and political science student and the enterprise elections reporter. She previously wrote and edited for the Avenue desk and reported for WUFT News. You can usually find her writing, listening to music or writing about listening to music. Ask her about synesthesia or her album tier list sometime.
