There’s a saying about elite golfers being capable of “hitting every club in the bag.” From putter to driver, you can put it in their hands, and they’ll find the sweet spot every time.
Indigo De Souza has the vocal version of that. Across four studio albums, she’s proven equally capable of applying the softest of touches and the most powerful belters, plus everything in between. She can sprinkle sugar on a lyric as easily as she can lace it with acid.
It’s one thing to hear that recorded and quite another to see it unfold in front of you, which a room full of Radio Milwaukee members experienced on an overcast Thursday afternoon. For her Studio Milwaukee Session held 14 hours or so after playing Turner Hall, De Souza took the stage with electric guitar in hand and vocal chords at the ready. It was more than enough.
Opening the set with two tracks from her upcoming album, Precipice, the North Carolina-based artist was placid one moment and powerful the next as she delivered the deeply confessional lyrics that paper all of her music. De Souza’s songs almost read like diary entries — something she described during the mid-set interview as a “journalistic way” to “connect with myself and with other people.”
She also shared her current picks for dance music (“My My My!” by Troye Sivan and Charlie XCX’s entire brat album), her somewhat-prophetic album art, and her mom’s favorite Indigo De Souza song. The track from All of This Will End made for the perfect set closer, giving our guest one more opportunity to draw us in and knock us back with that voice.
Studio MKE: Indigo De Souza set list
- “Be Like the Water”
- “Crying Over Nothing”
- “Younger & Dumber”
