Lomelda

The vulnerable, introspective songs of indie songwriter Lomelda span intimate acoustic and hazy full-band arrangements. After her first full-length, Late Dawn Inheritance, appeared in 2012, she made her Double Double Whammy label debut with her third album, 2017's Thx. A pseudonym adopted when she was in high school, Lomelda offers the meditations of Silsbee, Texas native Hannah Read. She followed in the footsteps of her older brother and sister by starting on the guitar at an early age. As Lomelda, she grew a fan base in the Waco area as a soloist while in college, but added a backing band for her self-released debut album, 2012's Late Dawn Inheritance. Co-produced by her brother, Tommy Read, it featured a small group of guests on strings and drums and was soon picked up by Austin-based Slow Divide Records. After she toured more extensively, Lomelda's second album, Forever, arrived in 2015 on Punctum Records. Released in April 2016, 4E captured a live solo performance of Forever at Waco's Meadows Recital Hall. With word of her low-key, intimate songcraft spreading, Lomelda then accepted an invitation to tour in support of Pinegrove and signed a record deal with Double Double Whammy. The label released her third studio long-player, Thx, in September 2017. The opening track, "Interstate Vision," became her most streamed song to the point, garnering millions of plays by the arrival of her next album, M for Empathy, in March 2019. While Read had by then relocated to Los Angeles, M for Empathy was recorded with her brother at his studio back in Silsbee, as was her fifth full-length, Hannah. It arrived on Double Double Whammy in September 2020. ~ Marcy Donelson