Every Wednesday, the ugly hug shares a playlist personally curated by an artist/band that we have been enjoying. This week we have a collection of songs put together by Chicago-based artist Meredith Nesbitt of the project Shoulderbird.

There is a bit of a different mentality that sets in when it feels like you’re the first person awake in the whole city. It’s not based in any superiority, or personal pity for that matter. But rather some kind of inebriation caught between security and anticipation that only exists as the sun slowly clocks in for the day. Shoulderbird’s music resides in that anticipation, a habit to enjoy the stillness of your surroundings, yet eager to the possibilities the day may bring. Softserve and a joint, mannequins with an itch to scratch, Meredith’s writing feels empathetic to the simple and dreamy, yet still manages to put one sock on at a time before heading out. Each track’s rhythmic routine on 2025’s debut LP, Neighbors, lends itself to improvisation and melodic fixations, something Meredith’s unique deliverance brings out with such gentle pronunciations and dynamic subtlety. And in those moments, as the sun covers more ground, the smell of instant coffee beats out the fumes of a stove struggling to life, and the effort to soften the blow between silverware and porcelain to not wake your partner becomes exhausting, Shoulderbird’s music toys with this stillness, offering a way to take advantage of the world when it feels to have finally slowed down.  

You may also recognize Meredith from touring with bands like hemlock, Burr Oak, Jackie Hayes, Hannah Frances, Minor Moon, Toddo and Astrachan.

About the playlist, Meredith shares;

My favorite way to hear music is live at shows, and I included in this playlist the songs of my friends, who I’m so lucky to get to hear in person. Mixed in are some classics that make me happy, and I’ve been turning to nostalgic comfort the last couple weeks in music. At the root all these songs are story songs and have come to me through moments I remember.

Listen to Shouldbird’s playlist HERE

You can listen to Neighbors out now as well as order a hand dubbed cassette.

Written by Shea Roney | Featured Photo by Sarah Clewett