underexposed - lean in close

Seattle-based indie folk project underexposed releases their third album “lean in close,” a sonic reinvention for the solo artist. With contributions from Los Angeles indie darlings Mykey and Janna Jamison, the cohesive folk album marks a new chapter for the rising artist.

With “lean in close,” underexposed examines the patterns and emotional interplay of falling in love, anxious attachment, and the complex ache of losing a loved one with delicate guitar and woodwind compositions. The result is both captivating and obscure, a wistfully relatable experience of devotion and loss.

underexposed is the nostalgia-heavy indie folk musings of multi-instrumentalist and producer Garrett Rahn. Pulling from their wide array of influences and musical backgrounds, Rahn’s newest album “lean in close” layers soft guitar compositions under pleasant woodwinds, gentle cello, and soft-spoken lyrics laden with metaphor.

underexposed began during a two week period in 2021 in which Rahn was living out of their car and fighting off a bout of COVID-19. With little else to occupy their time and no home base to return to, Rahn spent the days playing guitar in public parks and journaling, later coalescing those reflections into the aptly titled debut single, “car song” and their subsequent album, “INTRA.”

After recording and releasing “INTRA” in Bellingham, WA, and New York City, NY, in 2022, Rahn moved to Los Angeles, CA, to further pursue their artistic ambitions. underexposed evolved quickly over the next three years, exploring new sounds through slowcore and grunge-influenced projects “tapestry” and “walk away”. Leaning heavily into the lo-fi folk subgenre, their 2025 EP “S.O.S.” struck a chord in fans with its critical analysis of the roles of social media in our daily lives and how it has warped the music industry. In his review of the “S.O.S.” for Start Track, Newt Fangs wrote “When listening to this EP, I’m driven to introspection, especially when listening to the first few tracks. siren song, one of my favourites from the tracklist, seems to further point me in the direction of limiting my use of social media, more specifically when using it to fill a void in me and avoid the uncomfortable feelings that the act of trying brings up.”

Following the devastation of the Eaton Canyon Fire in 2025 and a number of other unpleasant shifts in their personal and professional life, Rahn left the LA Metro Area to move back north to Seattle, WA, and continues to write and perform there today.