Brennan Wedl’s self-titled album is a testament to collaboration, withhold selves, these lives yet to be and the friends helping you along the way. It’s an anthology of spiritual awakening that sizes up the road ahead, encapsulating the messes and triumphs when leaving a traditional path for something less steady.

Wedl is already a prolific artist, releasing solo music since 2012, and co-founding the queer core outfit Dazey & The Scouts in 2015. On her debut album for ANTI-, she shakes off the prying eyes of expectation, leaving behind the anxiety of forming yourself for others and welcoming the delight of finally being exactly who you are. Wedl enlisted Katie Crutchfield(Waxahatchee)and Brad Cook(Bon Iver, Hurray for the Ri? Ra?) to co-produce and play on the album, instrumentalists Colin Croom, Lindsey Jordan, Lindsey Jordan and Matt McCaughan also sprinkled throughout. Together, they formed a middle ground between punk, grunge and Americana—‘grungetry’ as they affectionately call it — capturing all tracks with a 10-day stay at Cook’s studio in Durham, NC.