Welcome to Chooser by Sofia Mills. Adorned with chainmail, Chooser’s visuals are heavily influenced by her love of baroque and renaissance art, a fascination with medieval history, and inspiration drawn from writers such as Kentaro Miura and George R. R. Martin. Her lyricism is blunt and straightforward, especially in tracks like Keeper and Same Old Death, where she touches directly on subjects that most tend to describe with metaphor. “One of the most popular narratives in our current lives is that the deeper you are known, the more vulnerable you become, and that vulnerability leaves you exposed. Though in some regards that can be true, I have found that, in my experience, there is a certain armor in blatant honesty. I use my songwriting as a sort of confession; a reckoning with the parts of myself other people might attempt to hide. I will tell you who I am, I will tell you who I am not, I will tell you my deepest secrets and most embarrassing stories, and I will choose to let that protect me.” Alongside her bandmates Andrew Crawford (drums), Geremy Mumenthaler (bass), and Calvin LaVallee (guitar), Sofia delivers a compelling live performance, with gritty guitars and synths conjuring a 90s-grunge dreamscape, and airy, intimate vocals juxtaposed with hard-hitting and raw lyrics.