Manderley, a debut EP by Los Angeles songwriter Thea Sass-Ainsworth. 
Produced by Kuba Güün. 
To be released 4.20.22.

Thea Sass-Ainsworth is a Los Angeles-based songwriter. Her debut solo EP, Manderley, is an offering of twisting memories and lost love pinned together by hands, lips, and cold drinks in smoky rooms. It is a night at the goth bar, a Lynchian dance montage, a scorned lover burning all your things. Armed with melodic guitar and husky vocals, Sass-Ainsworth hypnotizes and seduces to a frenzied point over the course of four tracks.  Recorded over the past year, Manderley was created with long-time collaborator Kuba Güün (Jacob Grun) in his East Hollywood studio to craft a record full of syncopated drums, gentle mandolin, and heavy guitar.

From Minneapolis to New York to her home of LA, Thea Sass-Ainsworth’s bicoastal history helped to make songs that transcend a time and place. And in a way, that’s what Manderley is exactly about. As a reference to Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca, Sass-Ainsworth’s EP is concerned with time, space, and how memory can betray shared experiences, especially when the spinning void of love and heartbreak is the setting at hand. Manderley takes place in bars, beds, and conversations with lovers, where shadowy memories live in perpetuity. Sass-Ainsworth screams these haunting memories through gritted teeth in hopes of being freed.

While Manderley is Sass-Ainsworth’s first solo offering, she is a seasoned performer and artist. Between gigs as the lead vocalist in 80s rock tribute bands, singing torch songs in jazz clubs, and a diverse array of band projects rooted in art practice and a punk ethos, Sass-Ainsworth has earned her stripes through years of performance. This EP is a far more personal project with Sass-Ainsworth’s hand in all aspects of the production, from guitar to vocals to the songwriting itself. The tone and texture of the EP is palpable and the long-time collaboration between producer Kuba Güün and Sass-Ainsworth comes across in the warmth, the ad-libs, and the heart present in the fullness of Manderley. Following in the footsteps of great femmes before her, Sass-Ainsworth has crafted a post-punk, glittering debut perfect for late nights and slow discos.

04 Coping

03 Keloid

02 Disposable

01 The Farthest Point

Disposable is a bridge between the teenage self and the adult self; about the incredible vulnerability and power of being a young woman; the ephemerality and indelibility of memories and lost love. It's a buzzy, distorted rock song with aching, dream pop vocals. Energetic and frenetic, with a current of sadness. This track is the first single off of Sass-Ainsworth's forthcoming debut EP Manderley, and will resonate with rock, indie, and pop listeners who love discovering new female vocalists.

Disposable

LOVE ME LONELY 
written by Thea Sass-Ainsworth 
Produced by Andy Goldstone at Platypus Sound.

Love Me Lonely

Safe and Hollow is about the ephemeral city, the night, and first love. Crackling, giddy, headlong, breathless, dangerous. Sinking into another person to try and find yourself. Being broken and being with another broken person; breaking together simultaneously. Wondering and not wanting to know the answer to—what comes after this? 

MUSIC AND LYRICS BY THEA SASS-AINSWORTH 
PRODUCED BY ANDY GOLDSTONE AT PLATYPUS SOUND

Safe And Hollow

Was I Wrong?

late nights, slow discos. 
bars, beds, and conversations with lovers, where shadowy memories live in perpetuity.

Thea Sass-Ainsworth

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