Daydream is an appropriate title for Brooklyn-based Pearla's first single from her upcoming debut LP Quilting & OtherActivities. Behind the band moniker, singer/songwriter Nicole Rodriguez reveals her most intimate thoughts through beautifully arranged emotional lullabies laden with metaphors and lush melodies. Recurring themes include love, evocative personal memories, the search for ways to escape darkness, whose emotional power gets boosted by her enchanting voice and a sparse but vivid production. Combining elements of folk, pop and psychedelia with a playful yet sober approach to songwriting, "Daydream" carries a wistful sort of confidence and a poetic power that's rare to find. 

In other Pearla-related news, the artist will be headlining Rough Trade on August 28th, celebrating the debut album release on Egghunt Records (Lucy Dacus, Camp Howard, Gold Connections). To hear the full EP, you'll have to wait until the September 6th release. - Susan Moon

“Can you forgive yourself for turning your back in fear? Do you understand your friends when they decide to stay at home?”

These are some of the questions Brooklyn singer-songwriter Pearla asks on her recent single, “Forgive Yourself,” a track filled with inquiries that are so disconcerting and difficult to answer that it’s hard to tell if they are experiments in self-examination or merely rhetorical. Regardless, there’s a remarkable amount of introspection evoked over the course of “Forgive Yourself’s” three sparse minutes, all building to an explosive end of featherweight vocal harmonies and thunderous electronic noise. Pearla’s sound is mellifluous and engrossing, but her music resonates so strongly from the sense of unease in what she asks of us as listeners - to take a good hard look at our lives, and ask for forgiveness. It’s a task easier sung than done.

Pearla will play Zone One at Elsewhere on November 28th, supporting Ritual Talk and Stello. Ahead of the show, stream her newest release Forgive Yourself, Pumpkin below. -Connor Beckett McInerney (@b_ck_tt) Photo by Josh Katz

NYC's Pearla is an act you'll want to keep an eye out for - her songs are brooding, melodic and relatable. With inflections of Fiona Apple, Pearla laments her sense of dislocation on "Somewhere," using her literal geographical disorientation as an analogy for her own sense of unmooring. The song's arrangement is atmospheric and poppy, making good use of tasteful electronic percussion and delicate keys. "I don't know which way is north/I never do, I've just trusted I would end up somewhere." It's a compelling sentiment for anyone who feels as if they've been thrusted into adulthood, ready or not. Pearla is playing at Mercury Lounge on April 10th, with Belle-Skinner and Ricky Stein. Listen to "Somewhere" below!" - Ethan Ames

NYC-based singer-songwriter Pearla released her debut EP at The Bowery Electric on 2/24. Pearla, also known as Nicole Rodriguez, has begun to stir up interest in the indie rock circles around the city. She's played a few shows with fellow rising singer-songwriter Belle-Skinner, most recently at Rockwood Stage 1 earlier this month. Pearla's first release, the single "Waking Up", came out last July on her Soundcloud page. It's a swirling rock ballad full of passion that might remind you of Alanis Morisette or Ani DiFranco. Listen to "Waking Up" below. - Will Sisskind