song premiere: "Twinkle Lights" - The Sonder Bombs

Photo: Andrew Wells

words:  Kayla Carmicheal

Full of heart and grit, “Twinkle Lights,” the newest single from The Sonder Bombs, is one that’ll strike you straight in the heart. This tough-as-nails slammer from a band of equal valor drops their debut LP Oct. 12th, and I can’t wait.

Vocalist Willow Hawks, arms her strong voice with a ukulele and recounts a deeply personal tale. Her bold tone and catchy hook instantly invite you into a simple melody, where the rest of the band stands waiting to join in. Evocative and emotional, the repetitive lyrics will easily get stuck in your head and feelings. “There’s something really wrong with me” she sings, ringing over the power chords of the electric sound and powerful drums. Not only is “Twinkle Lights” a showing of the depth of this Ohio-based group, but their message is abundantly clear with each single coming: Modern Female Rockstar is going to be an album to watch this fall.

Preorder an online or physical version.

Quote from Singer/Uke/guitarist Willow Hawks: 

“For a song written to be as blunt & truthful as Twinkle Lights is, I’m left with a calm wash and little to say about it all. Twinkle lights is a very therapeutic song for me. As sort of a letter to my younger selves, I focus on 3 pivotal points in my life. The moment where mental illness made itself a well known presence in my life, the moment when I was sexually assaulted and finally, the moment where I started to process and heal from all of it. These topics are difficult and triggering for a lot of survivors and folks with mental illness. Yet they NEED to be talked about. And for me to personally heal, I need to talk and write and express them in this way. I hope others are able to find the calm & understanding balance that I was able find for myself in writing Twinkle Lights, for themselves when they listen to it. For so long I felt alone in processing my trauma but once I realized the way Twinkle Lights allowed me to connect with folks at our shows and break down the barrier of “oh this is wrong to talk about”, I know that moving forward together, in support of one another is the only way to heal.”