Barbara SO THIS IS LIVING album marks a defining moment for the Denver-based indie-psych trio. Released on April 4, 2025, the record has quickly become one of Colorado’s most talked-about releases, earning acclaim from Westword, 303 Magazine, BandWagon Magazine, and Boulder Weekly for its dreamy yet heavy soundscape.
Formed by Camilla Vaitaitis (guitar, vocals, keys), Bridget Hartman (bass, saxophone), and Anna Panella (drums, trombone), Barbara emerged from the Denver music scene with a sound that defies easy labels. The three musicians met in music school, studying composition, jazz, and classical performance before moving in together and experimenting across genres. Their musical chemistry—what they jokingly call “three mothers birthing one holy child: Barbara”—has resulted in a sound that is both emotionally charged and technically refined.
Writers have described Barbara’s style as “Kurt Cobain but pretty,” a phrase that captures their ability to merge distorted intensity with ethereal beauty. Their sonic DNA blends dreamy shoegaze, gritty psychedelia, and slowcore sludge, weaving between delicate melodic textures and climactic walls of sound.
Following their debut, Barbara’s second full-length album SO THIS IS LIVING showcases an expanded palette of ideas and emotions. Produced by Connor Birch (of Flaural) and mixed by James Barone (of Beach House), the album delivers a lush and atmospheric experience that feels both precise and organic. Critics have called it “stellar,” “magnificent,” and “a delicate take on modern psych rock.”
The title track, “So This Is Living?”, captures Barbara’s signature “soothing-but-heavy” duality. The song’s structure floats between wobbly dream sequences and explosive climaxes, creating a hypnotic sense of movement. One reviewer compared its surreal mood to Radiohead, while another remarked it “could easily soundtrack a series like Severance—multiple times over.”
The band revealed that “so this is living?” was inspired by “Doodle Bob” from SpongeBob SquarePants—imagining what it would feel like to come alive after living on a page. The track’s hypnotic bassline and nostalgic tone are underscored by the hopeful lyric: “Since I’m alive, might as well try.”
It’s a perfect reflection of Barbara’s ethos: humor and honesty folded into musicianship that is as intricate as it is heartfelt.
Each member’s background in jazz, classical, and composition gives Barbara a foundation that sets them apart from most indie bands. Their arrangements often shift time signatures, add brass textures, and allow songs to breathe between gentle intimacy and heavy distortion. This balance of precision and playfulness makes SO THIS IS LIVING feel like a continuous exploration rather than a fixed statement.
The album’s layered production—anchored by Birch’s engineering and Barone’s mixing—lets every nuance shine, from Panella’s dynamic drumming to Vaitaitis’s soaring vocals and Hartman’s enveloping bass tones.
Since the release of SO THIS IS LIVING, Barbara has been featured across multiple Colorado publications. Westword described the band’s music as “genre-agnostic, acidically dreamy, and full of spiraling emotion,” while 303 Magazine highlighted their “fluid balance of technical mastery and raw expression.”
Their growing recognition reinforces Barbara’s reputation as one of Denver’s most inventive and fearless bands—a group committed to “figuring it out as they go,” and clearly succeeding.
Barbara’s SO THIS IS LIVING album isn’t just a sophomore success—it’s a declaration of purpose. The trio transforms experimentation into accessibility, merging academic discipline with raw emotional honesty. For fans of dream pop, psych rock, or simply music that makes you feel, this record is a must-listen.
In short: Barbara proves that living—at least in sound—can be as surreal, joyful, and strange as you choose to make it.
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