Seattle synth-folk duo Babes in Canyon burst forward with bright, instinct-driven energy on “Echo,” a radiant, irresistible indie pop release that celebrates vulnerability, self-trust, and the freedom to say it, mean it, and stand by it.

Stream: “Echo” – Babes in Canyon

“F**k that, trust that.”

Saying how you feel shouldn’t feel like a risk, but it often does – caught somewhere between impulse and hesitation, truth and self-preservation. There’s a rush that comes with choosing honesty anyway, with letting the words land exactly as they are, unfiltered and unpolished. That release – messy, electric, and alive – fuels Babes in Canyon’s latest single “Echo,” a radiant, full-bodied indie pop anthem that turns vulnerability into motion and instinct into an experience worth dancing through.

It pulses with that same conviction from its very first breath: “F**k that ‘cause I’ma talk back, I will never walk back any tender word I say to you.” The mantra is immediate and unmistakable, a declaration of self-trust that carries through every shimmering synth, every layered harmony, every buoyant beat. “Echo” doesn’t linger in doubt or overthink its footing; it moves, it glows, and it invites listeners to do the same.

‘Cause I’ma talk back
I will never walk back
Any tender word
I say to you
No I don’t play that
Yeah I meant to say that
Baby hit the playback
Make it a groove

F**k that, maybe I’m in love
Trust that, wear it on my neck
F**k that, maybe you’re the one
Trust that, swear it on my chest

Atwood Magazine is proud to be premiering “Echo,” the vibrant and freeing new single from Babes in Canyon, arriving as their first release of the year following their 2025 debut album The New Loud. Active for the past four years, the Seattle-based duo of Nathan and Sophia Hamer have long made an impression for their ability to turn a minimal setup into a fully immersive, high-impact experience – a quality that earned them a spot on Atwood Magazine’s 2025 Artists to Watch list.

Blending folk storytelling with lush vocal harmonies, atmospheric synths, pulsing beats, and buoyant percussion, their sound carries both the intimacy of a small-room performance and the expansive energy of a much bigger stage. Written in the aftermath of a project rooted in grief and emotional weight, “Echo” marks a clear shift forward for the band – one that trades heaviness for movement, and introspection for expression, without losing the emotional depth that defines their artistry.

For Babes in Canyon, that energy started with a simple guiding phrase that shaped how the song came together.

As Sophia Hamer explains, “On the heels of our debut album, which moved through heavy emotions surrounding loss and grief, we were eager to write new music together that embodies the phase that comes next. ‘F**k that, trust that’ became a mantra, and we set out to write a song that was bright and free.”

“Beyond shouting along and vibing to beats and synth lines, ‘Echo’ is a celebration of the power you can find in being vulnerable and expressive.”

From the moment it starts, “Echo” feels wide open and immediate, carried by a groove that never settles and a melody that lifts and loops like a thought you can’t quite shake. The band leans into contrast without forcing it – grounding the song’s emotional warmth in bright, kinetic production that keeps everything moving. Synths shimmer and stretch outward, percussion skips and pulses with a restless energy, and Nathan and Sophia Hammer’s vocals rise and fall like waves, giving the song both weight and lift. It’s a dreamy sound that pulls you in not just through what’s being said, but through how it lands – music you can shout, sway to, and fully step inside.

“We added some new elements for texture,” Nathan Hamer explains. “I bow on the ukulele like a cello throughout the song, Sophia sings stacked layers of harmonies across a broad vocal range, and we experimented with really active and buoyant percussion, complete with synth lasers and voice distortion.”

I feel so alive
A fever soaring high
Nebula in the sky
Oh I –
Slow, a feather as I fall
Into a desert sprawl
Together we could fly
Oh I –

I can’t stand all these one night stands
I can’t stand to lose
Fading sands running through my hands
Now I’m calling out for you

All of it feeds directly into an irresistibly catchy and cathartic chorus, where the song blooms into its most immediate, undeniable, and utterly infectious form.

“F**k that, maybe I’m in love / Trust that, wear it on my neck,” Nathan sings, each word effortlessly rolling off his tongue and into our ears, hitting like a release valve – bold, declarative, and impossible not to latch onto. There’s a push and pull embedded in those lines, a mix of certainty and vulnerability that mirrors the song’s core tension, but here it’s delivered without hesitation or resistance. Repeated and refracted through layered vocals and swirling production, the chorus becomes its own kind of echo – not just something you hear, but something you carry with you, long after the song fades.

‘Cause I’ma talk back
I will never walk back
Any tender word
I say to you
No I don’t play that
Yeah I meant to say that
Baby hit the playback
Make it a groove

That same sense of release carries beyond the song itself and into its visual world, where “Echo” takes on an added dimension – one that deepens its hypnotic pull while grounding it in something tangible and human. Filmed by Greg Mares and edited by Mares alongside Nathan Hamer, the “Echo” music video leans into both spontaneity and intention, mirroring the music’s balance of instinct and expression.

As Sophia Hamer shares, “For the visuals, we mused on the people in the famous ‘American Gothic’ painting and the idea that once the painting was finished, they went wild celebrating. It’s possible to find joy in dark times and with almost no resources, and if you can’t find joy, you can create it. The painting, like a lot of the songs on our debut album, has themes of mourning, resilience, and hard work, so with this new song we wanted to juxtapose those themes with the idea of completely letting loose and creating a good time out of nothing. The ‘Echo’ music video is celebration meets stoicism and finding ways of turning an ordinary day into an un-serious party, in the midst of ongoing hard times.”

Set on a farm and brought to life with kaleidoscopic filters, vintage textures, and playful visual distortions, the “Echo” video becomes its own dazzling, slightly surreal form of entertainment – equal parts homegrown and otherworldly.

Animals wander in and out of frame, moments unfold with a loose, anything-can-happen energy, and the whole thing carries an offbeat charm that feels both spontaneous and carefully shaped.

“We partnered with our longtime video collaborator Greg Mares and shot the video in a single day, starting around 6 AM on a below-freezing January morning,” Nathan Hamer recalls. “We experimented with prismatic filters to distort the images practically, leaving room for improvisation and discoveries in the moment; a lot of that room was taken up by various farm animals (alpacas, pigs, ducks, and dogs).”

“There’s enough b-roll to edit an entirely separate music video featuring just animals,” he laughs. “When it came time to edit, Greg curated the dreamlike vintage aesthetic, and we worked together to find the right timing and takes. Greg brought an older handheld digital camera to the shoot and worked the footage into the final edit; I think it adds a wonderful lightness and carefree nature to the final project.”

(You hear it like an echo)
F**k that, maybe I’m in love
(Feel it and I let it flow)
Trust that, wear it on my neck
(You hear it like an echo)
F**k that, maybe you’re the one
(Say it and I let you know)
Trust that, swear it on my chest

The result is nothing short of stunning. What Babes in Canyon capture here goes beyond a strong single or a striking visual – it’s a feeling you recognize instantly and carry with you long after it ends.

“Echo” makes a case for living a little more openly, a little more honestly, and a lot less guarded, and the video brings that to life in a way that feels both playful and deeply human. It’s not about perfection or precision; it’s about presence – about showing up as you are and letting that be enough. In that way, “Echo” becomes more than a song you listen to or a video you watch – it’s an invitation to let go, lean in, and trust whatever comes out next.

Stream the “Echo” music video exclusively on Atwood Magazine, and dive deeper into Babes in Canyon’s latest breathtaking single in our conversation below as the duo reflect on creative freedom, sonic experimentation, and the instinct-driven mindset that brought this vibrant, feel-good release to life.

Say what you feel, mean it when you say it, and trust it once it’s out in the world – “Echo” gives us permission to say “f**k it” and follow our gut all the way through.

F**k that, trust that
Echo echo, echo echo
F**k that, trust that

(You hear it like an echo)
F**k that, maybe I’m in love
(Feel it and I let it flow)
Trust that, wear it on my neck
(You hear it like an echo)
F**k that, maybe you’re the one
(Say it and I let you know)
Trust that, swear it on my chest

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:: stream/purchase Echo here ::

:: connect with Babes in Canyon here ::

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Stream: “Echo” – Babes in Canyon

A CONVERSATION WITH BABES IN CANYON

Babes in Canyon (Nathan Hamer): We’re a synth-folk duo from the furthest corner of the Pacific Northwest. Babes In Canyon started when we got stranded in a cabin during a windstorm, so nature is very much embedded in our sound; we layer heavy beats with lush synths and lots of vocal harmonies. We’re embarking on our first national headlining tour this spring and it really feels like we’re just getting started. With only two of us onstage, we do a lot of live looping and instrument switching to build soundscapes around each song.

Babes in Canyon: “High Tide” off our last EP and “In The Garden” from our debut album are great places to start. A personal favorite of ours is “Sunset Song” off the new record (featuring a chorus of tree frogs from deep in the PNW swamps). For the crate-diggers, “Jealous Neighbor” is one of the first tracks we ever recorded.

Babes in Canyon: Spoon, Mereba, Fruit Bats, and Tame Impala are contemporary musical north stars for us. Groovy bass lines, atmospheric synths, folk and pop sensibilities. We converted the bottom floor of our farmhouse into a quasi-studio, which enables us to really take our time when exploring new music, experimenting with different sounds and recording methods; that’s super exciting for us.

Babes in Canyon: On the heels of our debut album, which moved through heavy emotions surrounding loss an grief, we were eager to write new music together that embodies the phase that comes next. “F**k that, trust that” became a mantra, and we set out to write a song that was bright and free. Beyond shouting along and vibing to beats and synth lines, “Echo” is a celebration of the power you can find in being vulnerable and expressive.

We added some new elements for texture: bowing on the ukulele like a cello throughout the song, stacking layers of harmonies, and experimenting with really active and buoyant percussion, complete with synth lasers and voice distortions.

Babes in Canyon: “Echo” is about having the courage to speak honestly and earnestly. Life is short: profess your love, dance if you like the beat, say “f**k that” to whatever is holding you back.

Babes in Canyon: We were aiming for an upbeat groove that felt sort of celestial and swirling. We created a rolling beat with shimmery cymbals that led to the idea for a flowy, disco-inspired bass line. The goal became creating an ethereal world you can either get lost in, dance through, or both. The lead synth line was written to convey a sense of hopeful yearning for something inexplicable.

Babes in Canyon: It’s about a connection between two people being truly reciprocal, and therefore free. The energy you send me, I will mirror and reflect back to you. What you perceive in me, is whatever you were already looking for, or whatever you’re avoiding in yourself.

Babes in Canyon: The New Loud was a deep exploration of who we both are individually as songwriters, while navigating a really heavy time in life. It’s been a relief to have the songs resonate with so many new listeners since the album came out, and getting the songs ready for live performance has been cathartic. The songs have taken on a completely new life as we tour the album around the country. We’ve added a lot of vibey, danceable layers to each song while staying true to our folk sensibilities. It’s exciting to feel the album keep evolving along with us.

Babes in Canyon: Hopefully “Echo” empowers people stop giving a f**k how they’re perceived. Vulnerability and free expression shouldn’t be embarrassing. Joy can exist at the same time as despair and hardship.

Creating this song and the visuals were really freeing for us to experiment with new sounds and trippy visual concepts. Our takeaway has been to continue to experiment beyond the conventions of any one genre, and play with new organic and electronic elements.

Babes in Canyon:

• New Body Electric – Portland – “Every Day”
• Shelby Natasha – Seattle – “it was mine”
• Camp Bedford – NYC – “24”
• Jarren Blair – Nashville – “i used to like you”

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:: stream/purchase Echo here ::

:: connect with Babes in Canyon here ::

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Stream: “Echo” – Babes in Canyon

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 © Rachel Bennett

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