Avery Friedman | |
|---|---|
| Genres | Indie, Singer-Songwriter, Indie Folk [1] [2] [3] |
| Occupation | Musician |
| Labels | Audio Antihero, Softseed Music |
Avery Friedman is a Brooklyn-based [4] [5] musician and singer-songwriter [6] from Cleveland, Ohio. [7] Her lineup includes James Chrisman (Sister. / CIAO MALZ) and Felix Walworth (Florist / Told Slant). [8] [9] She released her debut album 'New Thing' via Audio Antihero [10] [11] on April 18, 2025, [12] [13] [14] which received support from NPR Music's All Songs Considered, [15] [16] The Line of Best Fit, [17] Under the Radar Magazine, [18] KEXP, [19] [20] BBC Radio Scotland, [10] [21] No Depression, [8] [22] Hanif Abdurraqib, [23] [24] New Noise Magazine, [6] KLOF Magazine, [12] [25] WFUV, [26] [27] WNYU, [28] [29] [30] Rockerilla, [31] FM4, [32] Out Front, [33] Spotify, [34] [35] [36] and others. [37] [38] [39]
Avery Friedman was born in Cleveland, Ohio. [9] [40] [41] She relocated to attend the University of Michigan, [42] [43] where she wrote for The Michigan Daily, [44] [45] [46] and founded the college podcasting team with future bandmate Ryan Cox. [47] [48] [17] After completing her studies, Friedman moved to Brooklyn, New York, where she later began her music career. [7] [41] [8]
Avery Friedman first began writing songs and performing live in 2023, [49] [50] [7] eventually sharing with bills with acts like Sister., h. pruz, and Dead Gowns. [4] [51] [52] Before the end of the year, she issued her first demo recordings via benefit compilations from the Steakhouse Records ('You're Gonna Be Great 3 - A Compilation in Support of the Entertainment Community Fund') [53] [54] [55] and GUNK ('For Palestine') labels. [56] [57] [58]
Impressed by her work, Sister. and CIAO MALZ guitarist James Chrisman offered to record her debut album. [4] [7] [46] These sessions occurred in the winter of 2024 and included contributions from Felix Walworth of Florist and Told Slant, Ryan Cox of Club Aqua, and Malia DelaCruz of CIAO MALZ. [59] [60] [61] Of these studio recordings, Friedman first self-released the “Flowers Fell” single in November, which was praised by Muso’s Guide and The Ugly Hug. [62] [51] [63]
In January 2025, Friedman announced her debut album, ‘New Thing,’ would be released via the Audio Antihero label on April 18. [64] [65] [66] The announcement came with a label re-release of “Flowers Fell,” which received airplay on BBC Radio Scotland from Roddy Hart, [10] national airplay in Austria on FM4 from Robert Rotifer, [11] and Dandelion Radio, [67] as well as on North American stations like WMRE, [68] WSUM, [69] WMSE, [70] WVEW, [71] CFRU, [72] KGNU, [73] and the Bronx's NPR-affiliate WFUV, where she was that day’s featured “NY Slice" artist. [74] [75] She also added to the Amazing Radio C-list and placed in the station’s charts. [76] [77]
The single also received additional press attention on its second release, [78] allowing her to reach No. 1 in both the Hype Machine blog aggregator’s “Popular Now” [79] [80] and “Most Posted Artists” charts. [81]
After originally premiering on The Alternative the day prior, [82] the “Photo Booth” single followed on February 28. [83] Friedman again topped both Hype Machine charts with this single, [84] [85] [86] and it was featured in Spotify's "Fresh Indie Finds" playlist. [36] In a review, The Honey POP called Friedman ‘’one of our favorite up and coming indie pop artists,’’ [87] Grimy Goods included it in their favourite songs of February and March, [88] [89] Beats Per Minute featured "Photo Booth" in their Best of the Month selection, [90] glamgare named it their “Song Pick of the Day,” [91] and Loud Women awarded it "Single of the Week." [92] Radio support for “Photo Booth” included WMSE, [93] WNYU, [94] WXCI, [95] WUDR, [96] KZUU, [97] WORT, [98] WRFI, [99] WMFO, [100] and WYXR. [101] After the single's release, Friedman performed at two unofficial SXSW showcases in Austin, Texas [17] for No Sleep No Hunger [102] and Far West Records. [103]
The album’s final single, and title track, “New Thing” was released on March 28, after premiering with Under the Radar the day prior. [4] Friedman returned to the No.1 spot in Hype Machine’s “Most Posted Artists” chart [104] and the song was added to Spotify's "Fresh Indie Finds" playlist. [35] “New Thing” was featured in God Is In The TV’s “Tracks of the Week,” [105] and was supported Jensaispop [106] [107] by The Alternative, [108] Mindies, [61] Glide Magazine, [55] and others. [109] [110] [111] Radio support for the single included WVKR [112] (for whom Friedman also recorded a session [113] ), SHMU, [114] KGNU, [115] and Radio Free Brooklyn. [116]
After premiering on Atwood Magazine the day prior, [7] Friedman’s ‘New Thing’ album was released on April 18 [117] [118] via Audio Antihero, [119] [120] [121] with Softseed Music also co-releasing a vinyl edition. [122] [123] [124] The album received a positive response from press with KLOF Magazine's Thomas Blake calling it "scarily accomplished,"’ [12] [25] No Depression’s Rachel Cholst praised Friedman’s instincts, expression of "queer joy" and the contributions of Chrisman, Cox, Walworth and DelaCruz, [8] while God Is In The TV’s Trev Eklin scored the album 8/10, [13] and New Noise Magazine’s Kayla Moreno awarded the album a full five stars. [6] "New Thing" was included in No Depression's Best of April playlist. [125]
Elsewhere, she received additional complimentary coverage, [126] [127] [128] including Under the Radar’s Caleb Campbell describing the album as ‘’a work of raw singer/songwriter confessionalism, evoking the knotted melodies, homespun arrangements, and searing edges of musicians like Squirrel Flower, Babehoven, or Adrienne Lenker,’’ [4] and Stephen Thompson said in his NPR Music review for All Songs Considered: "If you're into intense, dreamy, subtly imaginative singer-songwriter-ly pop, people like Squirrel Flower or maybe the softer moments of Big Thief, don't miss the debut album by the Brooklyn singer Avery Friedman. Her songs are a cocktail of anxiety and uneasy beauty with chiming, ringing arrangements that really get under your skin." [5] [129] [130]
The album also received “honorable” and “notable” mentions from Stereogum, [131] BrooklynVegan, [132] and Paste, [133] in addition to a positive review from Post-Trash, [134] praise from Hanif Abdurraqib, [23] [24] [135] a 9/10 score from The Spill Magazine, [136] a 4/5 from Hive Magazine, [137] a 7.4 from The Daily Music Report, [138] an 8/10 from Mindies, [139] Friedman was the subject of feature interview articles in the Rockerilla magazine, [140] and on The Line of Best Fit, [141] [142] in which writer Emmeline Armitage praised the album’s "tenderness" while opining that "the promise you are left with as a listener, that there is a beauty in uncertainty and becoming, that flowers that die will surely grow again." [17] 'New Thing' also received support from LGBTQIA+ outlets like Out Front, [143] The Q's OUT LOUD Podcast, [144] and Rainbow Rodeo. [145] [146] [147]
Upon the album’s release, Friedman returned to the No.1 spots in Hype Machine’s “Most Posted Artists” and "Popular" charts. [148] [149] Radio support also came from KEXP, [150] [151] [152] WFUV, [153] KXLU, [154] WNYU, [155] [156] KTSW, [157] WUML, [158] WQFS, [159] KLMU, [160] WUNH, [161] WRUV, [162] KDUR, [163] CJSR, [164] WSUM, [165] KRFF [166] WMEB, [167] CJRU, [168] KSYM, [169] Freies Sender Kombinat, [170] CITR, [171] WQSV, [172] and BBC Radio Scotland. [21] [173] For the week ending April 22, 'New Thing' placed at No.29 in the North American College and Community Radio Chart's "Top 30 Top Adds" chart, [174] due to support album add support from various stations. [175] [176] [177]
The song "Finger Painting" was included in the Grimy Goods Best of April, [178] "New Thing" was featured in KLOF Magazine's May mixtape, [179] and "Nervous" was added to Spotify's "Fresh Finds," "Fresh Folk," and "Fresh Folk Finds" playlists. [180] On May 12, Friedman was again featured as WFUV's "NY Slice" artist. [181] 'New Thing' release show was held on May 15 with a sold-out show [182] [183] at the Union Pool venue in Williamsburg. [184] [185]