“I realized I was a trans woman between finishing and releasing this album. That presented me with an issue: I was ready to release this album but didn’t want to go through the release process under that old identity.”

Check it out on YouTube:

Those inspiring words come from Chicago-based Vanessa Thurlow aka co-founder of Opal Voss along with Kate Nikles, and as you can imagine, it’s as brave and bold as her 11-track pop-synth album that sheds light on her realized identity and viewing life through a lens of loss.

“Only in making these songs to work through the years of loss I’d experienced was I able to get a look at who I am separated from the circumstances of my life: Coming to terms with my identity as a trans woman, losing my father, COVID, difficult breakups, etc. I have always had a fair bit of distance from my identity.”