Songwriter and producer Soren Bryce has created an alt-rock project called ‘Tummyache’ – named for one of the side effects she experiences as a result of her severe physical anxiety. Latest single ‘Machine’ is from her debut EP, ‘Humpday’, which was released November 1 through Poor Man / Palo Santo.
Although Tummyache is a new project, Soren Bryce is no novice, having been creating and releasing music under her own name for the past 6 years. While living in Brooklyn, New York, she discovered she was experiencing a different set of emotions to what she had before, and so the “Tummyache” project was born.
‘Machine’ is as confronting as one can imagine a song stemming from anxiety might be: it’s – actually quite – jarring in its metallic and slightly-too-loud instrumentation, jangling guitars fill every inch of every space they sonically can, while all the time competing with the incessantly pounding drums. It’s unnerving, but it’s meant to be that way – it does exactly what it says on the tin. Bryce’s vocals are reminiscent of the much lamented Dolores O’Riordan from The Cranberries, and you get the feeling that this is touches only the tip of the iceberg of Bryce’s emotions. The song title is not by chance either; it’s perfectly descriptive of someone who feels as though they are going through the motions of life while hiding who they are deep inside.
‘Machine’ comes with a music video which is nearly as confronting as the song itself, with Bryce and her band playing hard and fast, while interspersed with glimpses of her view, as it were, from inside her head. A model car crashes into some solid matter, which oozes a paint-like substance (actually it probably is paint…) she’s viewed through a scratchy piece of Perspex, perhaps symbolising how others see her, as someone who doesn’t let her full self show. She’s having fun gadding about with her bandmates, but deep inside she’s being torn apart by anxiety.
You can find out more about Tummyache on Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube. Stream Tummyache on SoundCloud.
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