The first thing you notice when dropping the needle on Living in a Glass House, the debut LP from Makin’ Out, is the raw edge simmering beneath its folk-leaning punk songs. Then you learn that most of the material started out on acoustic guitar, and it clicks. But once you read where the darkness in these songs truly comes from, you wish it didn’t make so much sense.

Much of the record is rooted in songwriter Caitlin Angelica’s personal and familial experiences with addiction and abandonment. Then, tragedy struck: Angelica survived the mass shooting at a house show in Minneapolis—Nudieland—where her partner, August Golden, was killed.

With that context, Living in a Glass House becomes more than a heartfelt punk record. It’s a document of unfathomable grief, a cracked heart laid bare, and a brave attempt to heal through song. “What purpose do I have to stand on / when the ground beneath my feet is gone?” Angelica asks on opener Now I Know. By the time you reach the stunning closer Sunflower Song (that intro!), you’re left in silence—moved, gutted, and somehow a little more hopeful.

Out now in a limited run of 300 randomly colored LPs via Dead Broke Rekerds.

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