Alternative poptress SOUNDR draws us to the most vulnerable corners of her mind in her debut EP MONSTERS IN MY HEAD, out on Friday, September 24th. Composed of five intimate tracks, the record delivers a message of self-acceptance and authenticity, which is at the very core of everything SOUNDR is. Her slick grasp of both retro and progressive elements of synthpop, rock, and punk allows her to craft her own melodic flair in the trove of alternative pop. Throughout the record, she unflinchingly addresses some of the knottiest emotions that one experiences while struggling with mental health and chaos. Along with the EP, she has also unveiled the lyric video for her previously unheard track “IT ME” where she turns anger into a freeing cathartic moment.

For Katherine Thomas, making music as SOUNDR has served as a therapeutic outlet during some of the lowest moments this past year. “I started writing for the SOUNDR project after moving back to Salt Lake City, right in the middle of the pandemic. I had very few friends in the area, was in a new living environment, and working with a new producer on songs that were under my skin more than anything else I’d written. At the same time, I was juggling severe depression and anxiety, as well as manic phases. I felt like I was living this whole other reality inside my head that no one else cared to see or could understand. I was dissociating a lot, and I was feeling a lot. Anger, sadness, chaos, power, feeling ruthlessly numb. All these emotions and thoughts stuck in my head, creating dissonance with the real world around me. I wanted a way out of the cycle -  a way to process, to take the chaos in my heart and mind and turn it into something meaningful,” shared Katherine.

With every track, she takes the opportunity to share an intimate side of her headspace. “Each song on this EP is an expression of those feelings. Each song carries an unfiltered piece of me. It is vulnerable in saying: I am the ‘Monsters In My Head.’ I own who I am, even the ugly parts. And I am okay with being everything at once. But I realize now that I am also the catalyst and source of change. I control how much power I let those pieces of me have. I control who I want to be, and what I want life to look like. I’ve grown so much in writing these songs. I shifted my focus over the past year to two main things: creating art and healing mental scars.”

Featuring her previously unreleased singles “IT ME” and “SYNTHETIC EMOTION”, MONSTERS IN MY HEAD finds SOUNDR accepting and embracing her darkest imperfections as part of the human condition. Without any restraint, she delves into the extreme ends of emotions that become the sources of her self-expression. 

This is apparent in her new track “IT ME”, where she translates anger into a liberating moment of healing. “‘It Me’ is the first time I’ve ever let myself express anger in a song! As a human, I have a hard time allowing myself to experience anger, so this was a really interesting experience. I think it’s healthy and necessary to let ourselves experience every emotion as it comes up. Writing is my catharsis, so simply put, this was the expression of all the anger I had stuffed down.”

But SOUNDR also addresses the ways we sometimes channel our feelings in the wrong direction. In “Synthetic Emotion”, she breaks down the way we seek distractions to ignore the root of our pain. “Writing ‘Synthetic Emotion’ was such an effortless kind of explosion of thought. I was feeling really alone and thinking about how instead of digging into the root of our pain, we reach for inebriations or lovers for escape. I wanted to tell a story, and try to bring a visual to the listeners mind.”

Having garnered support from the likes of PopWrapped, Broadway World, idobi Radio, and more with her previous releases “MANIA”, “DUMB DUMB”, and “CONTROL”, SOUNDR has been quickly garnering buzz for her effortlessly catchy anthems that chronicle her journey navigating through her own inner demons. MONSTERS IN MY HEAD finds SOUNDR pushing the conversation on self-acceptance further while also expanding her sound into ambitious territories.

ABOUT SOUNDR:

Influenced by the term “sonder,” SOUNDR (also known as Katherine Thomas) paints her truth within the lines of sensational lyrical tactics and lively sonic elements in her compositions. Growing up in Salt Lake City, Katherine has built her musical foundation on the basis of duality. The acknowledgement that everything in life carries heaviness and beauty—the balance of feeling everything and nothing, all at once. Since breaking into the scene in 2017, she has worked with renowned electronic producers including MitiS, Steam Phunk, and more. She has been featured in various viral hits, amassing millions of streams and building a dedicated fanbase worldwide. With her solo project SOUNDR, Katherine is fully immersed into creating an outlet for those who feel misunderstood or alone and is here to provide a haven for the next generation of misfits.