Biography

Delivering her own brand of ambitious, grand-scale indie pop, Little Scream is the stage name of vocalist, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Laurel Sprengelmeyer. Her music is at once lush and intimate, with a subdued approach informed by folk but with melodies that are drawn from indie pop and flashes of rock dynamics. Little Scream's debut album, 2011's The Golden Record, established the blueprint for her music, and she added a stronger political outlook on her third long-player, 2019's Speed Queen. Born in Iowa, Sprengelmeyer spent her formative years in the United States before relocating to Canada, where she became a key figure in Montreal’s indie music scene. Rechristening herself "Little Scream" she started writing songs that vacillated between intimate folk and cinematic rock, creating a unique sound that earned her comparisons to Orenda Fink and Leslie Feist. Little Scream's buzz quickly grew, resulting in a record contract with Secretly Canadian and the approval of local acts like Stars, Arcade Fire, and Bell Orchestre. Members from all three bands lent their help to her full-length debut album, The Golden Record, which was released in early 2011 to strong reviews. Little Scream toured extensively following the album's release, but it was several years before she released her follow-up. After signing with Merge Records in early 2016, Little Scream released her long-awaited sophomore effort, Cult Following. Featuring guest appearances by Sufjan Stevens, Sharon Van Etten, Aaron Dessner and Bryce Dessner of the National, and Mary Margaret O’Hara, Cult Following was released in May 2016. Little Scream toured extensively behind Cult Following, and during her swing through the United States, she found herself struck by the growing cultural and economic division in the U.S. Her observations would inform the songs of her third album, Speed Queen, released by Merge in October 2019. ~ Andrew Leahey, Rovi