Hannah Lew - Hannah Lew
Hannah Lew - Hannah Lew
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This is a new vinyl record of a self-titled album by Hannah Lew. The album was first released in 2026 and this is a pressing from that year. The album is presented on black vinyl.
“One foot out the door, another in the otherworld...”
So begins Hannah Lew’s debut, self-titled solo record, soaked in imperious, wide-eyed pop songwriting and a girl-group/post punk aesthetic that belies the artist’s history in the U.S. underground. A towering, hook-laden album, it’s infused with an optimism and surrealism that conversely deals with the times we find ourselves in.
Recorded at home in Richmond, CA and in The Best House studio with Maryam Qudus in Oakland CA, with the assistance of a crack team of West Coast musicians, this album sees Hannah Lew stepping out from behind the legacy of her two groups Grass Widow and Cold Beat. While musically bearing similarities with her previous work, “Hannah Lew” is a bold leap into direct pop territory, making ample use of a vocal style that teases out the inherent melancholy in her melodies. Mastered by Sarah Register, each song is a perfectly honed nugget that frequently pulls the heart in two directions at once.
Themes of change, breaking up, shattering old ways of being are shot through the record. For the front cover, a photograph of the artist’s face was printed, ripped up and re-assembled, resembling the creative process embarked upon by Lew for her first “solo” material. The album feels instinctual, almost dream-like in its assemblage of sweeping synths and pulsating, propulsive drum machine beat patterns with Lew’s vocal performances sensitive and caressing over the top. Increasingly relying on the subconscious and dreams to guide her creative process, Hannah Lew frequently abandons literal interpretations or linear narratives, the songs seeming to exist in a swooning, effortless flow-state while remaining emotionally hard hitting.
On an album where every song could be a single, there are kaleidoscopic shades and varying emotional tones in abundance. First single Another Twilight is carried along a pumping, Italo-disco-style 4/4 beat and mono-synth bass line, the low end pulling at the heart and body. Lew’s vocal melody teases the track before swan-diving into a gorgeous chorus as she sings “it’s all over baby and I don’t mind... in decline, I take my time...” The album is suffused with moments like this. On slow builder Damaged Melody, an arpeggiated synth elongates the verse before a cascading synth showers down melodic glitter. The stunning Replica uses dual swirling synth patterns before a driving, synthpop chorus for the ages carries Hannah Lew’s vocal into the stereo field, sailing in on a high register singed with the embers of a break up.
In a departure from previous groups, her solo songs are guided by dreams and free association inspired by Dada and the Surrealist movement and sculpted afterwards. As such, the songs reveal themselves on repeated listens, revealing traces of heartbreak inspired by both personal and global elements - Hannah Lew regards the album “a wartime album.” On Move In Silence, Lew intones “there’s a war outside, just out of view,” revealing the dichotomy at play throughout. With the songs evolving naturally and in a flow state, the pressures and sadnesses of the modern age bleed through, mixed in with Lew’s inherent love, sensitivity and fractured-but-intact optimism. On the swooning, sublime Sunday layers of Numanoid synths open up for the commanding vocal performance pontificating on grief, love, pain as she “feels the ache on Sunday...” As the chorus builds and Lew’s call-and-response vocal adds to the emotional tension, it almost feels like too much to take.
Elsewhere, there are echoes of Hannah Lew’s previous work. On Time Wasted a bass guitar comes in with a heavy, punk attack before the synths and vocal harmonies reminiscent of later Cold Beat elevate everything. The glassy, sweetly resigned closer The Clock sounds like so classic it could be cover, a sweetened Jesus & Mary Chain tune perhaps, before it erupts into volcanic chorus that could only come from Hannah Lew in 2026.
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Orders are packed using a protective cardboard mailer, or re-used cardboard boxes. Where extra padding is needed, we use compostable honeycomb wrap, re-used bubble wrap, recycled brown paper, or re-used clean paper. We use brown paper tape and eco-shipping labels. All packaging materials can be composted in your home compost system, recycled, or used as sheet mulch.
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Condition Grading
Condition grading of preloved vinyl
We grade the cover (sleeve) and vinyl (record) separately, so you know what you’re getting.
The price label will show an abbreviated rating – first, the rating for the cover, and second, a rating for the vinyl record (e.g. VG/VG+).
The grading categories are:
Near Mint (NM)
The cover (sleeve) should have no creases, folds, seam splits, or noticeable defects.
The record will be in near perfect condition with no imperfections during playback. It may have evidence of slight handling.
Very Good Plus (VG+)
The cover may have slight wear, indents, cut marks or a slight split seam.
The record will show some signs that it has been played. Any defects should be cosmetic and not affect playback. The record may show some signs of wear and have slight scuffs or very light scratches that don't affect the listening experience.
Very Good (VG)
The cover may have some signs of wear and noticeable indentations or cut marks. Any ring wear should be faint. Labels may be marred by writing or have tape or stickers (or their residue) attached.
The record may emit surface noise upon playing, especially in soft passages and during a song's intro and fade but will not overpower the music. Groove wear will start to be noticeable, as with light scratches that will affect the sound.
Good Plus (G+), Good (G)
The sleeve will have seam splits. Tape, writing, ring wear, or other defects will be present.
A record in Good or Good Plus condition can be played through without skipping. But it will have significant surface noise, scratches, and visible groove wear.
Fair (F), Poor (P)
The sleeve barely keeps the record inside it. Inner sleeves are fully split, crinkled, and written upon.
The record is cracked, badly warped, and won't play through without skipping or repeating. The picture sleeve is water damaged, split on all three seams and heavily marred by wear and writing.