At this point, independent artists have become so preoccupied with racking up enough streams to receive their annual $5 checks from Spotify to really even consider the effects success—i.e. world tours opening for household-name artists, annual $10 checks from Spotify—might have if they ever achieve it. For Mini Trees’ Lexi Vega, the three years following the release of her debut album of bedroom-scaled dream pop, Always in Motion, saw her outfit playing shows with Death Cab for Cutie and Julien Baker as Vega slowly began to realize that perhaps this level of exposure was unsustainable.
Despite the title of her first release since Always in Motion—and also since contemplating hanging up her music career for good—the newly released Burn Out EP is an ecstatic set of five songs reintroducing the artist as a rejuvenated voice unable to be confined by the parameters of bedroom-pop. As she shares with us, opening single “Shapeshifter” alone took its form thanks in part to the pulsating synths of Baths, the innovative vocal approaches of Imogen Heap, and the ’80s-sourced drum samples of 070 Shake. While “burn out” may indicate an homage to the ’90s slacker-rock canon, instead the EP looks to the future—both Vega’s own as well as the next chapter of dream pop.
With the release arriving this past Friday via Run for Cover, Vega took the time to walk us through 10 tracks that influenced the EP, which you can stream and read about below. Check out Burn Out here.
Baths, “Miasma Sky”
My friend sent me this song after I showed him my first demo of “Shapeshifter” and I immediately went down a rabbit hole listening to Baths. I love the way he blends natural and digital sounds across his music, and how “Miasma Sky” revolves around that pulsating synth.
Hiroshi Sato, “Say Goodbye”
The random arpeggiator that rolls throughout this song is one of my favorite sounds ever. I love how nicely the rest of the groove plays off of it and how the combination creates this really fun, bouncy, funk feel. Hiroshi Sato was so ahead of his time with this one.
Frou Frou, “Flicks”
As a kid I’d always copy my sister’s taste in music and steal her CDs. This Frou Frou record, along with Speak for Yourself, were unlike anything I had ever heard before and I found myself revisiting these songs around the time I wrote “Shapeshifter.” Looking back I can see how much Imogen Heap’s music has shaped my own taste and affinity for interesting vocal production, harmonies, and innovative synth sounds.
Big Red Machine feat. La Force, “8:22am”
I love the vocal stacking between La Force and Justin Vernon in this song. I’m a huge sucker for those kinds of clustery harmonies, and when I was first demoing and writing “Shapeshifter” I spent a lot of time pursuing a similar sound with the vocals.
Jemima Coulter, “SST”
This is one of those songs that takes you on a journey, and the way it crescendos into the bridge/outro makes me emotional. I also love how there are so many details tucked into the production that you continue to discover as you revisit the song. This is something that I love about Jon [Joseph]’s production, too, my longtime friend and producer who worked on this EP.
Nilüfer Yanya, “The Mystic”
Easily one of my top albums of 2022—I was obsessed with this record by the time I hit the studio to record “Shapeshifter.” I love the drum tones, clean guitars, and Nilüfer’s layered vocals on this track.
Alex G, “S.D.O.S.”
Another favorite record of mine that was on repeat while we were in the studio. I almost forget that it takes two minutes to get to the vocal hook because of how enthralled I already am with the flurry of wild sounds happening up until that point.
070 Shake, “Guilty Conscience”
Simultaneously while I was recording “Shapeshifter” and the new EP, I was getting tattooed by my friend in his garage and have a distinct memory of hearing this song for the first time. I love the 808s on this song, the mix of trap and ’80s-sounding drum samples, and the huge synths.
A. G. Cook, “Windows”
One of my favorite A. G. Cook songs. I absolutely love everything about the production on this song—the choir vocals that act as a synth pad, the clean Auto-Tune on the lead vocal, and choppy piano and tiny drums that somehow still bring a ton of energy when they finally enter the song.
Charli XCX, “party 4 u”
Sticking to the A. G. Cook theme, I love anything he and Charli do together, and “Party 4 u” is a perfect, sad synthpop song.
