Whether found handwritten in a second-hand book or a lyric taken from the singer’s favourite song, there is often a lot of romanticism and attention around a band or artist’s name. However, Leeds based songwriter Amber Strawbridge’s stage moniker comes with a little less poeticism. Known as Bored at My Grandmas House, Strawbridge named herself when she was literally bored at her Grandma’s house. Luckily, Strawbridge’s boredom did not reduce to nothing, and she has been releasing dreamy indie gems under this pseudonym since 2020, when she released the demo of her song ‘Skin’, which was later revamped and included on her debut EP Sometimes I Forget You’re Human Too in 2021.

After a short hiatus, Bored at My Grandmas House returned in November with her first single of 2023; ‘Inhibitions’. It is a song that continues with the sound of her previous releases, but pushes the songwriting and production to a new level. From the moment it comes in, its melancholic sounding guitar takes the listener instantly to a place of post-punk nostalgia, appearing as if it could have belonged to a cut from The Cure’s Disintegration. Coinciding with the guitar, Strawbridge’s vocals glide with a liberal amount of reverb through the jangly instrumental, and the listener is left in a space of shimmering gloom.

It is not just the sonics that are melancholic in ‘Inhibitions’ though. Strawbridge’s lyrics are very introspective, as she sings in the first verse: ‘I’ve recently felt trapped/Confused to who I am/Stopping me from achieving and believing’. There is a relatability to the lyrics, of a loss of self that comes from the overwhelming feelings of sadness or depression. This feeling is equally matched through the repetition of the title of the track in the chorus, as there is a sense of relentlessness that is intercut with the occasional backing vocal, distantly declaring the phrase, ‘the secret killer’. Through the sound and lyricism within ‘Inhibitions’, Bored at My Grandmas House has seemed to have created the perfect soundtrack to the feeling of falling apart.

Having played at a number of UK festivals over the summer, including the BBC Introducing Stage at Glastonbury, it appears we may have to wait a little longer until we get new dates from Bored at My Grandmas House. However, whilst we eagerly await the release of new music or tour dates, I can only assume her Grandma will be trying to figure out ways to entertain Strawbridge so that she is not bored when she next comes to visit.