Lea Willms steps into the spotlight with debut album ‘Marbles’

There’s a quiet power in honesty, and Germany-born singer-songwriter Lea Willms wields it with grace on her debut album Marbles. Spanning love, fear, and the messy intricacies of identity, the record is a deeply personal exploration of early adulthood, stitched together with rich, immersive soundscapes that feel both intimate and expansive.

Raised along the river Rhine, Willms grew up surrounded by her parents’ record collection, drawing early inspiration from the likes of Bob Dylan, Neil Young, and The Beatles. What started as poems in spiral notebooks gradually transformed into songs, each carrying a raw emotional core. Over the past three years, she shaped Marbles across Germany and the UK, recording at Chester’s Sloe Flower Studio, with her journey through Manchester, Berlin, and her hometown leaving indelible marks on the album’s sound. The result is a delicate balance between intimate folk storytelling and lush, contemporary indie textures.

Tracks like the title song ‘Branding Bruises’ meditate on authenticity in an era of curated perfection, with ethereal vocals floating over understated electric guitars. Meanwhile, ‘Reunion’ leans into alt-pop sensibilities with tender, relatable lyricism, and ‘Home’ explores grungier indie-folk terrain, weaving dreamy vocals through atmospheric guitar lines and immersive production. Across the record, each song feels like a diary entry, part of a larger cinematic narrative threaded with vulnerability, reflection, and quiet strength.

“Making Marbles was such a transformative experience for me,” Willms explains. “After pressing pause on music to work full-time, creating this album felt like a true creative revival. The songs span five years of my life - from feeling homesick and lost in Manchester to finding my footing in Berlin. I poured all the fears, doubts, and hopes of my early 20s into it. It’s deeply personal, but I hope listeners will hear their own stories in it too.”

Influenced by artists like Julia Jacklin, Lucy Dacus, and Soccer Mommy, Willms’ sound blends timeless folk intimacy with bold indie modernity. Marbles isn’t an album that rushes to tidy resolutions; instead, it invites listeners to sit with emotion, to embrace uncertainty, and to find strength in stillness.

With her debut, Lea Willms stakes a claim as one of the most promising new voices in European indie music, offering a record that is as reflective as it is resonant, a quietly cinematic introduction that lingers long after the final note.