Bored at My Grandmas House – Show & Tell

Leeds-based singer-songwriter Amber Strawbridge, aka Bored at My Grandmas House, might have written Show & Tell in her bedroom, but these tracks could easily be mistaken for full-band compositions. Lead single Inhibitions sets the stage for the rest of the record; a cathartic shoegaze ballad about being plagued by intrusive thoughts that sounds both homespun and elaborately produced. 

Strawbridge might have moved away from the DIY production of her early recordings, but there’s still a late-night vulnerability to her voice when she sings, 'I’ve recently felt trapped / Confused to who I am'. Or on Imposter Syndrome where her incantatory repetition of the phrase 'I’m an Imposter' feels calm, almost soothing, as it collides with a maelstrom of warped guitars and hazy synths. 

Sometimes her voice lacks the energy required to keep these songs engaging, and too often you wish she’d wander somewhere unpredictable, like on the title track, which feels like a cry for help and an admission of self-sabotage. However, when she sings 'You’ve got to work to earn my trust / Because I’m like a fucking closed book', Strawbridge sounds like a singer who has not only found their voice, but the confidence required to project it.

Listen to: Show & Tell, Friendship Bracelet, Imposter Syndrome