(BHM) Tristen is set to release her 5th studio album, Unpopular Music, on November 7 via Well Kept Secret / Secretly Distribution. The Nashville-based recording artist has built a reputation for crafting melody-driven songs rooted in clever, story-forward lyricism. As she explains, "I don't write by genre - I write honest songs. I want listeners to feel something: the sting of heartbreak, the beauty of gratitude, the brush with the unknowable."
Recorded in her home studio with her husband and longtime creative partner Buddy Hughen, Unpopular Music showcases a striking intimacy and cohesion, with the two tracking most of the instruments themselves. On Unpopular Music, Tristen also welcomes guest appearances from Wilco's Pat Sansone, Vanessa Carlton, Natalie Prass, Becca Mancari, and Erin Rae.
Today, Tristen shares the first sounds from Unpopular Music with lead single "Skin of Our Teeth", an ode to allowing dreams to change and calming the fiery furnace of ambition.
Playfully self-described as "refining unpopularity since 1982," Tristen embraces eccentricity and independence of thought as core artistic values: "I love unpopular music. Abstractions sung through unpopular melodies, wrapped in warm sounds. I love unpopular themes that stir difficult emotions and ambivalence... may your unpopularity be your badge of knowingness."
Unpopular Music is Tristen's first full-length release since 2021's Aquatic Flowers, a record praised by Talkhouse Podcast, calling her "one of those songwriters and performers absolutely beloved by other musicians, and for good reason. She's a risk-taker in the studio, venturing out into unknown territory and pretty much always finding something at least interesting... and often incredible."
Her discography charts an adventurous artistic evolution. Charlatans at the Garden Gate (2011) paired retro-pop hooks with lyrical storytelling, while C A V E S (2013) explored synth-driven, orchestrated arrangements. With Sneaker Waves (2017), she wove together folk-rock warmth, garage-tinged drive, and cinematic pop textures, the album's title serving as a metaphor for life's sudden turns, while its lead single "Glass Jar" featured a guest appearance by Jenny Lewis.
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