Written by Shea Roney

Levi Minson, the singer-songwriter out of California, has always held an edge to momentary feelings – the duality at which they are experienced and then later remembered with newfound distance. Minson released Violet Speedway, his last LP released back in 2024, which found him singing of shortcomings as if he is one step ahead. Minson now returns with his new EP, Thread the Eye, out February 27th via Anything Bagel. Today, the ugly hug is premiering the first single from the collection titled “Arms”. 

With the slightest shift of intonations, “Arms” falls into a dance of minor spells as Minson leads the track with finger-picked patterns and telling melodies in tight step – sure to miss any cracks on the sidewalk and the bad luck that we’re told ensues. This isn’t out of worry or superstition per say, but for the precedence it sends to our most empathetic and curious thoughts. “You wanna be good/but you never knew how/stuck inside the body/arms reaching out,” Minson sings, his voice almost visible like breath in the cold, open air, only becoming more apparent in the colorful voicings and heavy considerations that pool from the rich progression. Though, without getting caught up in its repetition, Minson’s back and forths become more of a point of reflection, a type of casualty that is both compassionate and committed to what’s around us when things begin to feel too big to handle. 

About the single, Minson shares, “I wrote Arms during a moment of existential curiosity: How do we do what’s right? How do we stop the oppression of others? How do we process the guilt of living in an unjust world?”

Listen to “Arms” premiering here on the ugly hug!

Thread the Eye is set to be released February 27th via Butte-based label Anything Bagel. Grab Minson’s previous LP Violet Speedway on a limited-edition screen-printed cassette tape from the bagel crew.