Giant in the Lighthouse Release Visceral & Nostalgic EP, Waving

Peggy O’Sullivan and Adrian Sympson make up the bright Massachusetts indie duo, Giant in the Lighthouse. Following their self-released 2016 EP All Winter, their newest five track EP Waving is a comforting touch to the ears with a professional polish. Much like introspective indie artists Julien Baker, Big Thief, and Of Monsters and Men, the band brings a raw, ambient feeling through their music and soft, airy vocals.

The second single from the EP, “Frame” discusses the feelings of homesickness and being in an unfamiliar place for an extended period of time. The sadness that comes with nostalgia flows through the song. It’s a personal anecdote describing O’Sullivan’s youth and old friends back home. She explains, “I wrote ‘Frame’ in my sophomore year of college. I was annoyed because I was still too homesick to enjoy myself. Nostalgia dominated my life, and a lot of my home friends felt the same way. Looking back on it now, from out the other side, I still believe we had something special.”

Her voice on the track is striking and clear, Sympson’s guitar pairing smoothly with the elegant vocals. The two musicians blend together to create a tender atmosphere, one that seems to be made of saltwater air and coastal fog— much like their geographical roots. Working with producers Andy Rosen and Ben Cassorla, the band wanted their music to feel “childlike without being childish” and “warm and soft, but big and visceral,” and they are thrilled with the result.

“Sprinting”— the first single off Waving— evokes childlike wonder through an echoing chorus and sprinting drums, spilling over into “Sleepwalking,” a light, upbeat song and recollection of escaping to camp during a past summer. The album finishes off with light fingerpicking on “Backwards,” followed by refined crashing cymbals and guitar riffs on “Darling” near the two minute mark.

While playing in different college bands, the two musicians initially met in passing and joked about creating a band together. It turned into a reality after O’Sullivan sent Sympson a recording and they began throwing around ideas. Of their inception, O’Sullivan says, “Once I sent Adrian a voice memo of that first song, the gears started moving. We wanted our band to be the antithesis of what we saw in the scene at the time. We were so sick of the ironic apathy. We wanted to have fun and care about something.” The result is the misty, gentle music of Giant in the Lighthouse.

Giant in the Lighthouse will be touring the east coast and beyond in the coming months to promote Waving. Dates are to be announced. Waving is available to stream on YouTube, Spotify, and Bandcamp.