Indigo De Souza Grapples With Nightlit Doubt on New Single “Smog”

Just a few weeks ago, to celebrate the announcement of her forthcoming record All of This Will End, North Carolina singer, songwriter and indie rock powerhouse Indigo De Souza blessed us all with “Younger & Dumber,” a gargantuan acoustic ballad swollen with catharsis, ache and retrospect. It was one of the most emotional teaser tracks in recent memory, as De Souza opted to let us all know, quickly, that what was to follow her terrific 2021 record Any Shape You Take was nothing short of divine.

To keep the momentum immense, De Souza is back with “Smog,” a backbreaker indie track glossed over with delicious disco inflections. Where “Younger & Dumber” found her reflecting on the heartbreaking loss of her own youth, “Smog” is a story spun with doubt in the present. Here, she is restless, attempting to understand her own flaws, which include feeling most like herself at night when everyone else is asleep. The arrangements on the track are catchy and balanced. In the verses, De Souza takes a monotone, patient approach, until she lets her vocals cascade perfectly into a sound wall packed with an atmospheric pastiche of drum machines and synths. “I come alive in the nighttime, when everybody else is done / I come alive, it’s the right time to really start having fun / I don’t know how to turn around if I’m not ready / I don’t know how to tell you that your jokes aren’t funny,” De Souza sings.

De Souza says of the track: “I remember writing this song during the peak of the pandemic. I was living alone on a dead end street surrounded by neighbors who were seemingly always mowing their lawns. I remember having a lot of anxiety during the day, navigating the newly awkward and uncertain experience of doing anything mid world freak-out. I was in an emotional state that felt like a cross between delirious joy and a real tired hopelessness. Everything felt unknown and distant. ‘Smog’ is mostly about that strange time and how it felt in my house, alone. When the neighborhood was asleep, and all the lawn mowers stopped, I felt free to make anything and sing anything I wanted. It was my first time ever living alone. It brought me a lot closer to myself.”

Check out the music video for “Smog” and Indigo De Souza’s upcoming tour dates and SXSW schedule below.

Indigo De Souza’s Upcoming Tour Dates:

SXSW:
March 15 – Audio Femme official showcase @ Central Pres. Church / 11pm
March 16 – KUTX morning broadcast @ Scholtz Garten / 9am
March 16 – FLOODFest day party @ Mohawk / 3pm
March 16 – Saddle Creek x Sub Pop official showcase @ Mohawk / 1am
March 17 – Wasserman day party @ Mohawk / 4:30pm
March 17 – Ari’s Take x LabelCoin official showcase @ Half Step on Rainey / 12:05am

Tour Dates:
3/11 – Birmingham, AL @ Saturn
3/12 – New Orleans, LA @ Toulouse Theatre
3/15-17 – Austin, TX @ SXSW
3/18 – Fort Worth, TX @ Tulips (Southside Spillover)
3/19 – Houston, TX @ Secret Group *SOLD OUT*
5/13 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Court Block Party
5/17 – Madison, WI @ The Majestic
5/18 – Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall
5/19 – Detroit, MI @ El Club
5/20 – Toronto, ON @ Opera House
5/22 – Boston, MA @ The Royale
5/23 – Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer
5/24 – New York City, NY @ Webster Hall *SOLD OUT*
5/26 – Hamden, CT @ Space Ballroom *SOLD OUT*
5/27 – Hamden, CT @ Space Ballroom
5/30 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
5/31 – Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle
6/2 – Atlanta, GA @ Terminal West
6/3 – Asheville, NC @ The Orange Peel
6/2-4 – Chattanooga, TN @ Riverbend Festival
6/27 – London, UK @ Roundhouse ^
6/29 – Roskilde, DK @ Roskilde Festival
7/1 – Stockholm, SE @ Lollapalooza Stockholm
8/12-13 Seattle, WA @ Day In Day Out Festival
8/14 – Indianapolis, IN @ TCU Amphitheater at West River State Park *
8/15 – Columbus, OH @ KEMBA Live! *
8/17 – St Louis, MO @ The Pageant *
8/18 – Kansas City, MO @ Arvest Bank Theatre at the Midland *
8/19 – Minneapolis, MN @ The Armory *
8/24 – Troutdale, OR @ Edgefield *
8/25 – Vancouver, BC @ Vogue Theatre *
8/27 – Bend, OR @ Hayden Homes Amphitheater *
8/30 – Berkeley, CA @ Greek Theatre at UC Berkeley *
8/31 – Los Angeles, CA @ Greek Theatre *
9/1 – Del Mar, CA @ The Sound *
9/6 – Las Vegas, NV @ Brookly Bowl *
9/8 – Phoenix, AZ @ The Van Buren *
9/9 – Santa Fe, NM @ Santa Fe Opera *
9/10 – Morrison, CO @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre *

^ supporting Japanese Breakfast
* supporting Sylvan Esso