“Baby, I love you,” sings Barrie Lindsay on “Quarry,” one of the singles off her sophomore album Barbara (out March 25th). Barrie sings this line three different times throughout the song: first, in a delicate and hushed whisper, then again with a bit more power behind it.
The last time, however, Barrie completely surrenders herself to the phrase, singing loud, clear, and confidently, eventually turning the line into a dizzying melody that dances around with a childlike wonder.
The song represents Barrie’s unbreakable bond with her wife, Gabby, but it also serves as a metaphor for Barrie’s musical journey: coming from fronting a five-piece indie pop band, Barrie is finally taking the lead as a solo artist and embarking into the unknown.
The beautiful vulnerability that characterizes the phrase “Baby, I love you” and the song as a whole speaks to Barrie’s open-minded attitude when creating Barbara: throughout the album are motifs of blood, being naked, and a sense of rawness that comes with love, loss, and being overwhelmed with emotion.
Barrie’s 2019 debut LP Happy To Be Here demonstrated her penchant for writing dreamy, comforting songs that seem to glow in the dark; yet, behind some of her anxious and impressionistic lyrics was a softness, dulled just enough to pull you in, but not enough to permeate through the band’s energetic bliss.
Part of that softness came from the simple reality of recording an album in a New York City apartment. “It was just by necessity,” says Barrie. “I sang a lot quieter, and didn’t have room to bring in a lot of the instruments that I have and like to tinker around on.”