Review | she’s green - Chrysalis
Earlier this morning, I looked up at the sky. Pink, misty clouds streaked over the faint pastel blue horizon. The sun had only just woken up, unable to open its eyes fully, letting cotton candy clouds smear the skyline for just a few minutes longer. This ephemera needed to be captured, maybe a picture or video? Instead, I found my best viewpoint, and soaked it all in. A tranquil, arresting, life-affirming sunrise. This is the feeling you get when listening to Chrysalis by she's green, an EP that holds hands with nature amongst every step down its track list. This is the second release from the shoegaze/dreampop outfit from Minneapolis, and while I can't say for sure, something tells me this band ventures beyond city limits for the outdoors quite frequently. The title of Chrysalis itself reflects this, with its literal meaning being “golden pupa of the butterfly”. In a broader sense, it can represent change, a transitional stage from one to the next.
While this release marks a stepping stone for the band, their 2023 offering Wisteria is still an impressive debut. I first caught onto she's green through “Mandy”, an effectively captivating track for its wistful beginnings before it shifts into the crushing delivery of its second half. This blissful yet burdensome track aligned with me personally who has been screaming about the “heavy-pretty” dichotomy in music being the perfect contrast for years. I find too much shoegaze to be tame, sterile, and resting on the laurels of their predecessors. It's been 30+ years since the genre began, and she's green showcases a worthwhile evolution of that sound.
Luckily, Chrysalis picks up right where Wisteria left off, with “Graze” a formidable first entry. Maybe it's because I watched I Saw The TV Glow recently and it's been stuck in my head since, but this track makes me feel like I'm at the summer camp Isabel and Tara first met at in the Pink Opaque. Nostalgic, drenched in nature, and with a haunting mist in the air, vocalist Zofia Smith stuns on this track and throughout the record. I am happy that Smith is their standalone singer, as it helps shape the identity and distinctness of their sound. While her voice is elegant, vivid, and lovely, the rest of the band drives home the harsher moments on “Graze” and “Figurines” which are my favorite tracks on the EP. Muddy chords and sludgy bass lines allow shimmering vocals to highlight these energetic moments, truly encapsulating a sound I've come to love and haven't heard enough in shoegaze or adjacent genres. “Willow” and "Silhouette" follow the former tracks respectively, and ease the tension back down after the highs of both tracks.
“Little Birds” ends the EP in a picturesque anecdote of being out of the house, wandering around. I can't help but relate this track to the artwork. Whereas Wisteria shows a woman laying atop a body of water, Chrysalis shows her standing within the water, and no discernible separation can be found. This track and artwork truly feels one with nature, and while I worry my words may sound gimmicky, the music does not. The accompanying music video again drapes you in this mood amongst the green shades of wilderness where it was captured.
Chrysalis has me waxing poetic on all of my favorite moments with nature, especially as a child. Those moments where you grow and understand the world in new ways, it was inescapable. I was brought back to a memory of riding my bike home with friends as a storm was rolling in. My house was the last stop as we all rode together to each other's houses and paused to see if it was safe to ride home or stay back until the rain passed. Luckily, it only started pouring as I was on my final stretch back to my house. I was never caught in a torrential downpour until that moment, inevitably drenched and weighed down by the force of nature beckoning above me. It wasn't scary, but impressive. How unknowing it was of the power and change it was causing upon me and the land it covered. Being human and feeling this “life magic” as a dear friend of mine called it, is quintessential to living. she's green helps to remind us of this, especially at a time when it seems hard to take a step back, breathe, and look at the sky surrounding us, even just for a moment.
she’s green
Release Date: August 15, 2025
Genres: Shoegaze, Dreampop, Indie Rock
Rating: 8/10
Written by Evan Lurie
