The Pop Corporation

Fans of Orville Peck may recognise Bria Salmena from playing in his live band. Well, good news for Western-inflecked road-trip music lovers is that Bria has a solo record out.

‘Bending Over Backwards’ is Salmena’s debut solo cut under her own name and signed to Sub Pop, these are all good reasons to press play and see what’s going down, right?

For the better part of the last decade, Bria Salmena has refused to be pigeonholed, effortlessly exploring various genres. Initially becoming known Sub Pop say: “As the frontwoman for critically-acclaimed Canadian experimental post-punk group FRIGS, which she co-founded with longtime collaborator, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Duncan Hay Jennings, Salmena then joined up with the enigmatic sensation Orville Peck, with whom she toured the world for the past half-decade as an indispensable and instantly recognisable member of his live band. Between tours, Salmena and Jennings (also a Peck collaborator) recorded two well-received covers EPs, giving classic and modern Americana songs a gothy dream pop spin, pushing the boundaries of the country genre; the cheekily named Cuntry Covers Vol. 1 & 2 (Sub Pop) were released under the mononym Bria.”

Sounds like an artist who has found their feet and doing exactly as intended, so get stuck in.