Bria Salmena

53 fans

Big Dog is out March 28!

Bria Salmena’s debut solo album chronicles a story of transformation–a deeply personal exploration of resilience and a declaration of artistic independence forged through collaboration. Long celebrated as the frontwoman of Canadian post-punk outfit FRIGS and as a vocalist in Orville Peck’s live band, Salmena culminates her artistic evolution on her Big Dog. Anchored by her commanding voice—alternately tender, raw, and defiant—the album traverses the terrain of vulnerability and connection, marking the arrival of an artist boldly coming into her own.

Big Dog is a record of big emotions and big ambitions. Musically, the record takes elements of hypnotic krautrock and shimmery shoegaze, opulent goth, and pulsing darkwave, with a smearing of electronic textures for a sophisticated and often uncanny sound. Amidst this vast sonic landscape, Salmena’s potent lyrical imagery and gorgeous vocals stand dead center, perfectly in focus.

For Salmena, it is impossible to unlink the personal journey represented by Big Dog from the collaborative relationships that went into its creation. Salmena worked with producer and multi- instrumentalist Duncan Hay Jennings in both FRIGS and Orville Peck’s band. Jennings, who is not only Salmena’s closest creative collaborator but also her closest friend, wrote Big Dog with Salmena over several years, during which Salmena was based in LA and Jennings in Toronto. Before Big Dog, the two gave classic and modern Americana songs a goth-y dream pop treatment on Salmena’s Cuntry Covers EPs.

Graham Walsh (Holy F**k, METZ, Debby Friday, Alvvays) helped the pair further refine their budding mix of rock and electronic music, while Meg Remy (of critically acclaimed experimental pop project U.S. Girls) focused primarily on Salmena’s vocals. Remy helped coax out the unforgettable performances that lie at the center of Big Dog through a series of cathartic meetings, pushing Salmena to dig even more deeply into the meaning of her lyrics and really think about different ways of using her voice. As Big Dog came together, it became apparent that Salmena’s songwriting had taken a raw and intimate turn, going well beyond her and Jennings’ work on their prior EPs.

Big Dog’s sound hovers between two worlds, gritty punk honesty always simmering below gleaming atmospherics, impossible to ignore. There are alternative rock touchstones—you’ll hear Live Through This, Kate Bush, Mazzy Star —and one genuine alternative rock icon in Lee Ranaldo, who contributes guitar to "See'er.” But there’s also a sleekness that’s just as much a callback to ‘80s coldwave as it is to ecstatic forms of dance music. Salmena’s rich voice is ever-present, a constant warm glow within a mesh of mechanical sounds. At its core, Big Dog is more than just a record about discovering who you are by processing painful experiences. It’s a record about discovering that you are never really alone.

Top tracks

02
Backs of Birds
Bria Salmena
Big Dog
03:27
Writer: Bria Salmena / Composers: Bria Salmena - Duncan Hay Jennings
03
Closer to You
Bria Salmena
Big Dog
02:25
Writer: Bria Salmena / Composers: Bria Salmena - Duncan Hay Jennings
01
Drastic
Bria Salmena
Big Dog
03:23
Writer: Bria Salmena / Composers: Bria Salmena - Duncan Hay Jennings
08
Stretch the Struggle
Bria Salmena
Big Dog
03:34
Writer: Bria Salmena / Composers: Bria Salmena - Duncan Hay Jennings
09
Rags
Bria Salmena
Big Dog
02:48
Writer: Bria Salmena / Composers: Bria Salmena - Duncan Hay Jennings
04
Hammer
Bria Salmena
Big Dog
03:44
Writer: Bria Salmena / Composers: Bria Salmena - Duncan Hay Jennings
06
Twilight
Bria Salmena
Big Dog
04:31
Writer: Bria Salmena / Composers: Bria Salmena - Duncan Hay Jennings
07
On the Line
Bria Salmena
Big Dog
03:01
Writer: Bria Salmena / Composers: Bria Salmena - Duncan Hay Jennings
05
Radisson
Bria Salmena
Big Dog
02:20
Writer: Bria Salmena / Composers: Bria Salmena - Duncan Hay Jennings
01
Green Rocky Road
Bria Salmena
Cuntry Covers Vol. 1
03:21
Writer: Len Chandler - Robert Kaufman / Composers: Len Chandler - Robert Kaufman
12
Water Memory
Bria Salmena
Big Dog
04:25
Writer: Bria Salmena / Composers: Bria Salmena - Duncan Hay Jennings
01
Bending Over Backwards
Bria Salmena
Bending Over Backwards
03:55
Writer: Bria Salmena / Composers: Bria Salmena - Duncan Hay Jennings
01
Where Have All The Cowboys Gone?
Bria Salmena
Cuntry Covers Vol. 2
04:20
Writer: Paula Cole / Composers: Paula Cole

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  • Discography
Albums
℗ 2025 Sub Pop Records
28-03-2025
Big Dog
01
Drastic
Bria Salmena
Big Dog
03:23
Writer: Bria Salmena / Composers: Bria Salmena - Duncan Hay Jennings
02
Backs of Birds
Bria Salmena
Big Dog
03:27
Writer: Bria Salmena / Composers: Bria Salmena - Duncan Hay Jennings
03
Closer to You
Bria Salmena
Big Dog
02:25
Writer: Bria Salmena / Composers: Bria Salmena - Duncan Hay Jennings
04
Hammer
Bria Salmena
Big Dog
03:44
Writer: Bria Salmena / Composers: Bria Salmena - Duncan Hay Jennings
05
Radisson
Bria Salmena
Big Dog
02:20
Writer: Bria Salmena / Composers: Bria Salmena - Duncan Hay Jennings
06
Twilight
Bria Salmena
Big Dog
04:31
Writer: Bria Salmena / Composers: Bria Salmena - Duncan Hay Jennings
07
On the Line
Bria Salmena
Big Dog
03:01
Writer: Bria Salmena / Composers: Bria Salmena - Duncan Hay Jennings
Access the complete album info (12 songs)
EPs
℗ 2023 Sub Pop Records
24-02-2023
Cuntry Covers Vol. 2
01
Where Have All The Cowboys Gone?
Bria Salmena
Cuntry Covers Vol. 2
04:20
Writer: Paula Cole / Composers: Paula Cole
02
When You Know Why You’re Happy
Bria Salmena
Cuntry Covers Vol. 2
03:50
Writer: Mary Margaret O'Hara / Composers: Mary Margaret O'Hara
03
Don’t Come Home A-Drinkin’ (With Lovin’ on Your Mind)
Bria Salmena
Cuntry Covers Vol. 2
02:25
Writer: Loretta Lynn - Peggy Sue Wright / Composers: Loretta Lynn - Peggy Sue Wright
04
By The Time I Get To Phoenix
Bria Salmena
Cuntry Covers Vol. 2
03:44
Writer: Jim Webb / Composers: Jim Webb
05
I Dream A Highway
Bria Salmena
Cuntry Covers Vol. 2
06:31
Writer: Gilian Welch - David Rawlings / Composers: Gilian Welch - David Rawlings
06
See You Later, I’m Gone
Bria Salmena
Cuntry Covers Vol. 2
05:12
Writer: Robert Lester Folsom / Composers: Robert Lester Folsom
℗ 2021 Sub Pop Records
24-09-2021
Cuntry Covers Vol. 1
01
Green Rocky Road
Bria Salmena
Cuntry Covers Vol. 1
03:21
Writer: Len Chandler - Robert Kaufman / Composers: Len Chandler - Robert Kaufman
02
Dreaming My Dreams With You
Bria Salmena
Cuntry Covers Vol. 1
03:39
Writer: Allen Reynolds / Composers: Allen Reynolds
03
Buffalo Ballet
Bria Salmena
Cuntry Covers Vol. 1
03:34
Writer: John Cale / Composers: John Cale
04
Fruits Of My Labour
Bria Salmena
Cuntry Covers Vol. 1
04:44
Writer: Lucinda Williams / Composers: Lucinda Williams
05
The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore
Bria Salmena
Cuntry Covers Vol. 1
03:28
Writer: Bob Crewe - Bob Gaudio / Composers: Bob Crewe - Bob Gaudio
06
I Don't Wanna Love Ya Now
Bria Salmena
Cuntry Covers Vol. 1
03:41
Writer: Mary Afton / Composers: Mary Afton
Singles
℗ 2024 Sub Pop Records
25-07-2024
Bending Over Backwards
01
Bending Over Backwards
Bria Salmena
Bending Over Backwards
03:55
Writer: Bria Salmena / Composers: Bria Salmena - Duncan Hay Jennings
℗ 2021 Sub Pop Records
22-09-2021
The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore
01
The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore
Bria Salmena
The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore
03:28
Writer: Bob Crewe - Bob Gaudio / Composers: Bob Crewe - Bob Gaudio
℗ 2021 Sub Pop Records
26-08-2021
Dreaming My Dreams With You
01
Dreaming My Dreams With You
Bria Salmena
Dreaming My Dreams With You
03:39
Writer: Allen Reynolds / Composers: Allen Reynolds
℗ 2021 Sub Pop Records
12-07-2021
Green Rocky Road
01
Green Rocky Road
Bria Salmena
Green Rocky Road
03:21
Writer: Len Chandler - Robert Kaufman / Composers: Len Chandler - Robert Kaufman
Featured in
2021 Wharf Cat Records
25-02-2022
Love on My Mind
01
Slither in the Rain
Bambara
Love on My Mind
02:59
Composers: Reid Hopkins Bateh - Blaze Bateh - William Carroll Brookshire
02
Mythic Love
Bambara
Love on My Mind
03:20
Composers: Blaze Bateh - Reid Hopkins Bateh - William Carroll Brookshire - Bria Salmena
03
Birds
Bambara
Love on My Mind
03:36
Composers: Blaze Bateh - Reid Hopkins Bateh - William Carroll Brookshire
04
Point and Shoot
Bambara
Love on My Mind
03:00
Composers: Blaze Bateh - Reid Hopkins Bateh - William Carroll Brookshire
05
Feelin’ Like a Funeral
Bambara
Love on My Mind
04:07
Composers: Blaze Bateh - Reid Hopkins Bateh - William Carroll Brookshire
06
Little Wars
Bambara
Love on My Mind
05:15
Composers: Reid Hopkins Bateh - Blaze Bateh - William Carroll Brookshire
2022 Lack of Sleep Records
25-11-2022
Dark Tracks
01
Strangers on a Train
Manuela Iwansson
Dark Tracks
04:33
Composers: Manuela Iwansson
02
Wishing Well
Manuela Iwansson
Dark Tracks
03:08
Composers: Manuela Iwansson
03
Piece of You
Manuela Iwansson
Dark Tracks
03:38
Composers: Manuela Iwansson
04
Deep Somewhere in Texas
Manuela Iwansson
Dark Tracks
04:19
Composers: Manuela Iwansson
05
Boys of Summer
Manuela Iwansson
Dark Tracks
02:59
Composers: Manuela Iwansson
06
Loving Is Easy
Manuela Iwansson
Dark Tracks
04:16
Composers: Manuela Iwansson
07
Dead Weight
Manuela Iwansson
Dark Tracks
03:22
Composers: Manuela Iwansson
Access the complete album info (10 songs)
2021 Wharf Cat Records
13-10-2021
Mythic Love
01
Mythic Love
Bambara
Mythic Love
03:20
Composers: Blaze Bateh - Reid Hopkins Bateh - William Carroll Brookshire - Bria Salmena
2022 Lack of Sleep Records
12-10-2022
Piece of You
01
Piece of You
Manuela Iwansson
Piece of You
03:38
Composers: Manuela Iwansson