Widowspeak

Widowspeak is a Brooklyn, United States-based indie rock band that forms in 2010 and remains active. The group is also associated with dream pop and shoegaze, and its sound is described as hazy and atmospheric, with abrasive guitar hooks, immediate drumming and repeated codas. It also has a sparer, darker quality shaped in part by the Washington background of other members.

Formation and early recordings

The band begins as a quartet and develops a skeletal sound around Robert Earl Smith’s rust-belt guitar parts, which support Molly Hamilton’s subdued melodies and soft vocals. Songwriting becomes collaborative, and the group builds up a large set of songs. By the autumn after forming, it records a six-track cassette using only a built-in laptop microphone and GarageBand. This self-released recording, October Tape, reaches Brooklyn label Captured Tracks.

After only its sixth performance, Widowspeak records the single “Harsh Realm” in preparation for a full-length release. The band’s self-titled debut album is issued by Captured Tracks in 2011.

Albums

Widowspeak follows its debut with a series of albums: Almanac (2013), All Yours (2015), Expect the Best (2017), Plum (2020), The Jacket (2022) and Roses (2026).