Michigan singer/songwriter Shortly (aka Alexandria Maniak) has been putting out promising singles for a few years now, and now they have finally announced their debut album, Dancer, due September 24 via Triple Crown (pre-order). The album was produced by Alexandria, their bandmates Austin Stawowczyk and Kris Herrmann, and Hop Along’s Joe Reinhart, and the first single is “Science.” It’s a tender, gorgeous dose of indie folk, fleshed out by minimal percussion and atmospheric, twangy electric guitar, almost like a cross between Julien Baker and self-titled era Bon Iver. Alexandria says:

It was originally a piece I wrote to vent about some of the harder and honestly kind of morbid feelings I felt about my childhood. It took a sec for the song to sit comfortably with me, originally, I didn’t even want it on the album and recording it was really hard, but I felt like it needed to be recorded. After sitting with it for this long I can see where those feelings came from and I’ve coped with them, now I see what it is for real!

The song is about growing up and experiencing everything for the first time. The recurring epiphany that you are alive.

Listen and watch the lyric video below.

Shortly are also touring with Chloe Moriondo (whose band Alexandria plays in). All dates are listed below.

Shortly / Chloe Moriondo — 2021 Tour Dates
10/5 @ Lost Lake in Denver, CO
10/9 @ Holocene in Portland, OR
10/10 @ Vera Project in Seattle, WA
10/12 @ Rickshaw Stop in San Francisco, CA
10/16 @ House of Blues in San Diego, CA
10/17 @ Rebel Lounge in Phoenix, AZ
11/12 @ Antones in Austin, TX
11/13 @ The Secret Group in Houston, TX
11/14 @ Club Dada in Dallas, TX
11/16 @ Basement East in Nashville, TN
11/17 @ The Masquerade in Atlanta, GA
11/19 @ Motorco in Durham, NC
11/24 @ Brighton Music Hall in Boston, MA
11/26 @ Velvet Underground in Toronto, CAN
11/27 @ El Club in Detroit, MI