Part Dream Pop, part Americana, the new single from Anji Bee’s band, Lovespirals, is considerably more upbeat than “Brother Against Brother,” the first single. Band founder, Ryan Lum, juxtaposes driving blues riffs and dreamy shoegazer guitar, finding a delicious balance between his earlier Love Spirals Downwards work and more recent Lovespirals work. Anji’s vocals exude the confidence born from years of familiarity with the material, with a lovely harmony of her natural earthy tone and haunting upper register.

“Heartstrings” has been 12 years in the making, beginning as a collaborative idea between Lovespirals and indie electronica duo, Beauty’s Confusion. The song was based around an acoustic guitar loop of Ryan, to which Chris of BC added beats and a Johnny Mars-esque electric guitar. The project came to an standstill over artistic differences, and in 2005 Anji sent her vocal files to DJ Pain 1 to gauge interest in the project. He quickly created a demo, featuring an amazing rap with his friend Guante. He wasn’t satisfied with the mix, however, and his version fell by the wayside, as well.

In 2007, Anji resuscitated the project as the theme song to a music podcast, enlisting Ryan to add his signature guitar leads to the original demo and to professionally record the chorus vocals for a shortened edit. The song lay dormant, once again, until production on Anji’s first solo record began in 2010. She was determined to create the definitive version of “Heartstrings,” building upon the 2007 version. The ensuing recording had such a strong Lovespirals vibe that it was decided to hold onto the cut until the band was ready to release their next album. Which brings us to this, the final version of “Heartstrings.”

Buy the new single & music video on Lovespirals’ Bandcamp to help fund the band’s upcoming 5th album