Bria Salmena

For the better part of the last decade, Bria Salmena has refused to be pigeonholed, effortlessly exploring various genres. Initially becoming known as the frontwoman for critically-acclaimed Canadian experimental post-punk group FRIGS, which she co-founded with longtime collaborator, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Duncan Hay Jennings, Salmena then joined up with the enigmatic sensation Orville Peck, with whom she toured the world for the past half-decade as an indispensable and instantly recognizable member of his live band. Between tours, Salmena and Jennings (also a Peck collaborator) recorded two well-received covers EPs, giving classic and modern Americana songs a gothy dream pop spin, pushing the boundaries of the country genre; the cheekily named Cuntry Covers Vol. 1 & 2 (Sub Pop) were released under the mononym Bria.

The artistically restless Salmena was ready to start carving out her own sound after conquering both the worlds of punk and country—and that meant it was time to lean into the sense of vulnerability that comes with being a solo artist, even if it scared the shit out of her. “I have a really hard time defining myself so concretely because I think that’s just creatively boring,” she says. “I want to do a bunch of different things and explore in all sorts of ways, so it’s nerve-wracking—but it’s also me taking ownership, and that feels good.”

And she isn’t entirely on her own, either. Jennings remains Salmena’s closest creative collaborator— since both left Peck’s band earlier this year, they have dedicated themselves to mapping out a musical path that feels artistically authentic and fresh, forging new territory free from past expectations. “I come from a punk background, and then I explored my affection for country music. I feel like those two worlds are combining, and I’m finding my own sound within that,” says Salmena. 

In her solo music, Salmena pairs various eras of brooding rock music—from austere goth and cottony shoegaze to hypnotic krautrock and gleaming coldwave—with an introspective singer-songwriter approach, her rich, distinctive vocals a perfect match for evocatively personal lyrics. Similar in vibe to the idiosyncratic chamber pop of Aldous Harding or Kate Bush, the raw art rock PJ Harvey, and the long-form ambient of Grouper, Salmena approaches genre like a puzzle, her music a strangely beautiful amalgamation that feels immediate, intimate, and original.

In advance of an upcoming full-length, Salmena shares “Bending Over Backwards,” a hazy, euphoric song with a pulsing trance-like beat and anthemic chorus, and a showcase for Salmena’s range as a vocalist. Describing the song as “a manic conversation with myself,” Salmena developed different vocal styles for the different parts, pushing herself to sing in an uncomfortable falsetto for the verses, further demonstrating her heartfelt desire to embrace change and discomfort in pursuit of artistic authenticity. Lyrically, it’s much the same. “It’s about some crazy life experiences that I’ve had in the past four years, and the work that it takes to go into chaos and come out of it,” says Salmena.