Oct 17, 2022

By Caleb Campbell

Photography by Stephanie Girard

Early next month, Los Angeles indie rock outfit LADY SLOTH are set to share their debut EP, Forest Behind the Fog, arriving November 4th. The band came together earlier this year, with singer/songwriter Justina Shandler and percussionist/songwriter Jon Lane sharing their rollicking debut singles, “Sugarloaf Mountain Road” and “Fences.” Now they’re back with news of the forthcoming EP and another new single, “Head Game.”

Like the previous two cuts from the record, “Head Game” strikes a charming balance between reflective themes and dynamic indie rock soul. Even with only a handful of releases together, Shandler and Lane offer up tightly knit chemistry, layering chiming melodies on top of driving rhythms until they burst forward into an expansive chorus. Meanwhile, the lyrics find Shandler sorting through aging, mounting anxieties, and nagging depression, with the chorus offering up a reprieve via a mantra Lane used to work through panic attacks: “Breathe a little slower / Ride this roller coaster / If I pass out my body takes over.”

Shandler says of the track, “We began writing lyrics and melody for ‘Head Game’ by bluntly calling out our real and recent struggle with anxiety and depression while detailing some coping mechanisms we’ve used to make it through.”

Check out the song below, out everywhere now. Forest Behind the Fog is out November 4th via Trailing Twelve Records.