Texas’ Ariel Hartley has shared her debut EP as Earl Hartley & Thrift Star, Dream Crusher, via Dreamy Life Records.
Hartley wrote the track while on tour with her all-female band Pearl Earl. These songs had a different sound than that of Pearl Earl. She found herself writing them on nights when she couldn’t sleep. These tracks came together to make the intimate new Earl Hartley & Thrift Star EP.
“These songs are vulnerable, they expose more of myself,” Hartley says of Thrift Star. “I wrote differently when on the road with Pearl Earl, found a more personal vein.”
Stream Dream Crusher below.
Earl Hartley & Thrift Star is inspired by the likes of artists like Karen O and Melody’s Echo Chamber.
Dream Crusher is a perfect blend of haunting, lo-fi tunes. While Earl Hartley & Thrift Star is Hartley’s solo project, she did collaborate with several friends. In fact, the EP was produced, recorded, and mixed by Alex Bhore in Oak Cliffs, Texas.
The gritty, anthemic opening track “Acid Love” thrusts you into the dreamy sounds of the collection. Throughout its four tracks, Earl Hartley & Thrift Star weaves in and out of retro soundscapes. “Palo Santo” is a gloomier tune, while “People Pleaser” is a dark, dance-worthy anthem. The closing track, “Dream Crusher,” is the most lo-fi of all the tunes. It serves as a perfect EP closer, with a softer sound than the rest.
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Lead photo courtesy of Ellie Alonzo.