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Apr 19, 2021 By Caleb Campbell Photography by Lucinda Ferndon

Based between London and L.A., Tessa Mouzourakis and Wynter Bethel of Tommy Lefroy combine confident indie folk songwriting, pop sensibilities, and the honest sheen of singer/songwriter confessionals. After meeting in Nashville and continuing to connect at songwriting rounds and house parties, Tessa’s cover of boygenius’ “Ketchum, ID” pushed Wynter to suggest forming Tommy Lefroy. Following their debut single, “Northern Towns,” the duo returned with their latest single, “The Cause,” and have now shared the accompanying music video, premiering with Under the Radar.

Introducing the pair with a percussive drum beat, “The Cause” expands the pair’s horizons into lush folk rock while remaining rooted in poignant balladry. Bursts of indelible melodies and cathartic instrumental crescendos provide an alluring emotional build to the track, all paired with Tessa and Wynter’s striking vocal interplay. The interlocking harmonies should prove immediately familiar to fans of the band’s contemporaries like boygenius or First Aid Kit.

Yet, where the pair’s brand of indie folk catharsis shines most is in the reflective lyricism. At once, the track is full of biting quotable wordplay (“Could’ve been a poet in a hotel lobby/I’m just sleeping with your college degree”) and lines that startle in their simplicity (“I had more to say/But you were louder than me”). Meanwhile, the accompanying video pairs the duo’s emotive confessionals with footage from the 1986 Vancouver Worlds Fair. It’s an exercise in contrast as the skateboarders fly through the air set against the duo’s plaintive lyrics.

Tommy Lefroy says of the track, “We wrote ‘The Cause’ about falling for someone who’s too caught up in their own world to make room for you in it. It was a moment of realization - the people we put on pedestals are always going to make us feel small.” Check out the song and accompanying video below.