Local students released their debut single “Hollow” on February 4, 2022. This new band is called Thelma, and the members are Brannon Duffin, Michael Bruce, Samuel King, Em Lozte, and Tyler Bastek.

Describing themselves as having similar sounds to The Smashing Pumpkins, The Cure, Sonic Youth, and My Bloody Valentine, this group is working on expanding their musical style. Making music can still be new, but doing it with people with the same passion can make it much more enjoyable.

“Thelma is five idiots who like music a little too much. We all enjoy making and playing music as a hobby, so why not make our own? We all enjoy each other’s company, and we work great together. We hope to keep working on great content,” King said.

Many artists have certain ways they make music or follow a certain process. Still being new to the music world, the group seems to be figuring out their own methods.

“It’s very driven by what everyone brings to our writing and practice space once a week. Some days it’s more productive than others, but overall the behind the scenes are very enjoyable, and it’s a good environment to be in for writing and recording,” Duffin said.

In regard to their first release, it taught them more of what goes into releasing music. Though there was much to learn from, the response the band has received to the song has been very positive.

“In making music, it can at times be strenuous to actually finish a song that everyone’s happy with, as we all tend to have slightly different visions of what the final version of the song should sound like. When it comes to releasing music, the most difficult part was getting it out on time. We have learned from releasing ‘Hollow’ not to promise anything too soon, as we kept having to push back the deadline we set for ourselves for a variety of different reasons, such as getting the artwork for the track done and getting it distributed to all of the streaming platforms,” Lotze said.

Being young and taking on music comes with learning curves. With being such a new group, they are still in the process of finding their own voice and group style. They are really working on finding their group’s foundation for their future.

“We want to try and make music in any genre while we try to find our sound,” Bastek said.

The band hopes to be able to release more music and is looking to use their experiences from their first song to improve upon their style. They now have a clearer view on what they need to work on and what will benefit them.

“Hopefully we’ll just do a little bit of everything; obviously there are so many different styles of music. We’ll see what happens. Currently, we have a lot of different stuff coming out,” Bruce said.

For more information and updates on Thelma, follow their Instagram @iwasthelma, or listen to their music on all streaming platforms.