Soundscape connoisseur Katie Gately is back with a new album, Fawn / Brute, her follow-up to 2020’s Loom. The album was inspired by Gately’s decision to have a child and her experience so far with motherhood. “When I got pregnant I started to get creative again,” she said. “I had a lot of energy at first, but later on, my pregnancy was stressful and worrying, so the music got darker and darker: I was making angry music while I was supposed to be feeling maternal.”

Today, she’s sharing the two songs from the album that make up its title, “Fawn” and “Brute,” which come from different halves of the LP. “‘Fawn’ is an attempt to capture the delirium and mania of new parenthood,” she said, continuing:

The song’s instrumental is meant to capture the buoyancy and enthusiasm of youth while lyrically acknowledging the doubt and uncertainty of one’s new role as “parent”.”Brute” is a love song for old vices, a reminder that parenthood doesn’t automatically mature us into respectable people. The song is a tug of war between responsibility and nonchalance; a struggle that is only intensified by the relentless demands of parenting.

Together, the songs symbolize the dichotomy of parenthood. You’re a new person, guided by a fierce protective love, but you’re also still the same old bastard. You’re cranky when you don’t sleep and you lie to yourself about how many ounces are really in one glass of wine. You do the best you can and you pray things will turn out well enough… but really, you’re just winging it.

Listen to both below.

TRACKLIST:
01 “Seed”
02 “Howl”
03 “Fawn”
04 “Cleave”
05 “Peeve”
06 “Scale”
07 “Meat”
08 “Brute”
09 “Chaw”
10 “Tame”
11 “Melt”

Fawn / Brute is out 3/31 via Houndstooth.