St. Augustine’s Spotless Record Share First Single, “Sertraline Dream”

From Isola Collective, the St. Augustine-based queer music collective who brought you Kids in Their Cars, comes the new band Spotless Record, who recently shared “Sertraline Dream,” the first single from their forthcoming debut album growing pains.

The Isola Collective thread begins with this summer’s mary st. demos, the first EP of three from Kids in Their Cars that will precede their debut album Fiddler’s Point. Across that four-track release, the DIY duo do much with little, from politically charged folk-punk (“nuance is dead!”) to a sprawling lo-fi heartbreaker (“small again”). Led by songwriter Orion Beck, Kids in Their Cars share a member with Spotless Record, vocalist and guitarist Vera Blume, whose songs also tap into the many complexities of coming of age in small-town Florida.

With Spotless Record, Blume and bandmate Obie Ophelia move from mary st. demos’ barebones production to a full home-studio sound without sacrificing any intimacy. Recorded by Blume, “Sertraline Dream” is, well, dreamy, its plucked acoustic guitars and hushed vocal harmonies creating a haze that feels disconnected in ways both liberated and uncomfortable. Ophelia is unerringly delicate in depicting an antidepressant-roiled inner world via bittersweet lines like, “Don’t start my mornings off with breakfast / Just existential dread.”

There’s no word yet on when Isola Collective will release Fiddler’s Point or growing pains, nor when Kids in their Cars or Spotless Record may play live, but you can follow along with Kids in their Cars and Spotless Record via Bandcamp. “Sertraline Dream” comes to all streamers on Oct. 27.