Music

“I Wanted to Put It All Out There” Meg Elsier’s spittake (deluxe) Is a Beautiful Mess of Feelings

25 July

“There’s beauty in the unfinished and imperfect.” That’s how rising indie-rock star meg elsier describes spittake (deluxe), the expanded version of her acclaimed debut album, out July 25 via Bright Antenna Records. And honestly, she’s right—this 17-track re-release feels like flipping through someone’s diary: part-polished, part-messy, all heartfelt.

Led by the joyful and melodic single “run [oldsong],” spittake (deluxe) is a deeper narrative into meg’s world. There’s a real warmth in the way the songs combine grungy guitars, gauzy shoegaze textures, and emotionally raw lyrics, but it’s the new additions, demos, live recordings, and B-sides that give this version its guts. It feels less like a finished product and more like an open sketchbook.

“These B-sides, these demos, this deluxe, it’s a celebration of all the little choices that made spittake what it is,” meg explains. “Creating is such a vulnerable playground. It’s a place to make mistakes. It’s a place to try these characters and voices and performances without anyone watching.”

There’s a looseness to these tracks that makes them feel intimate, like you’re hearing meg work things out in real time. And if you loved the original version of spittake, this one peels back the curtain. Tracks like “run [demo]” and “forlyleinsanfrancisco [demo]” strip away the polish and leave you with raw vocals and minimal production that somehow hit even harder.

The original album, released earlier in 2024, earned meg a wave of buzz from outlets like DIY Magazine, Ones To Watch, CLASH, and DORK, with many praising her sharp lyricism and distinctive sound. She’s got a gift for pairing sunny melodies with heavy emotions, and spittake (deluxe) leans even further into that sweet/sad contrast.

After touring with Blondshell and Liz Cooper, meg has also proven she’s just as magnetic live. And now, with spittake (deluxe), she’s inviting fans into her creative headspace, the fears, the false starts, the quiet wins.

“I wanted to show how much beauty can exist in the unfinished and imperfect,” she says. And somehow, it’s exactly that messiness that makes the album feel even more alive.