News
30 July 2026 – V.V. Lightbody Practices Social Confidence
By Editorial Team - July 30, 2026
Summary
Chicago artist V.V. Lightbody announces self-produced album 'Period Piece' and shares single 'Practice Smiling', exploring social post-isolation awkwardness.
Key Facts
- V.V. Lightbody announces self-produced album 'Period Piece', out October 9.
- Releases lead single 'Practice Smiling' featuring string and flute arrangements.
- Supported by upcoming live shows in Illinois and New York.
- Entities: V.V. Lightbody, Period Piece, Practice Smiling, Chicago, Illinois, New York
- Tags: vv-lightbody, period-piece, practice-smiling, chicago, indie-pop, chamber-pop, album-announcement, new-single
Chicago singer-songwriter V.V. Lightbody announces 'Period Piece', her first album as lead producer, and shares the graceful new single 'Practice Smiling'. Written after attending her first Chicago rock show when venues reopened in 2021, the song captures the exhilaration and awkwardness of remembering how to behave around other people.
Lightbody describes the album's wider theme as loosening the life corset, an excellent phrase for releasing the physical and emotional stiffness accumulated while everybody stayed indoors becoming unusually knowledgeable about bread. Strings, flute and Lightbody's warm voice turn social nervousness into something elegant and lightly humorous. 'Period Piece' arrives on 9 October and will be supported by dates in Illinois and New York. Practising smiling may sound unnecessary until someone asks for a group photograph and every facial muscle resigns simultaneously. Discover more indie pop announcements.