Back in 2016, we named Emma Witmer’s project gobbinjr a Band To Watch based on the charms of her vom night EP and her 2015 full-length manalang. Today, she’s announced a new album called ocala wick. She once again produced and recorded everything all by herself, though you might not guess so based on the fullness of lead single “afraid of me.”

The song plays out a relationship in miniature, Witmer’s sickly-sweet melodies sounding like tentative glances across a room. That is, until the chorus hit, when the song crystalizes and it becomes clear that she’s less concerned with the other person than with her own self-doubt. “I keep myself locked in a box beneath the bed/ I open up to find me at the wall banging my head/ I will pretend,” she sings.

Here’s how she frames the song in a statement:

[I] wrote ‘afraid of me’ as sort of a portrayal of a modern tragedy: trying to get closer to an intriguing acquaintance while simultaneously warding off unwanted attention. The song takes place at Shea Stadium, where I worked for a couple tail end years before they had to move locations. I tracked the vocals in the sound booth while Shea was undergoing some renovations last year, which left this song with a “choir” of my pals laughing and joking around, invoking Shea sounds of familial charm in the recording. Having recorded both the chatter and the live drums in that room makes me think of all the warmth and kindness I’ve experienced there, even if the lyrical content doesn’t reflect that level of comfort.

Listen below.

TRACKLIST:
01 “afraid of me”
02 “bap” (Feat. Heeyoon)
03 “fake bitch”
04 “whydoistillcare”
05 “sorry Charlie”
06 “november 163″
07 “joaquin”
08 “zitty mcgee”
09 “friends”
10 “immune”
11 “politely”

ocala wick is out 6/8 via Topshelf Records.