Photo by Daniel Dare

Searching for inspiration, Autumn Sky dove into the stories of Psyche, the Greek Goddess of Soul.

“Her journey is basically the rebirth it takes to become a young woman,” Sky says.

Bingo. Inspiration.

Autumn Sky has officially started recording her first full-length record, a concept album about the female psyche. And of course, Sky’s psyche.

First, here’s some pertinent background on Sky: the 26-year-old artist has been lugging her guitar around the Sacramento music scene for more than 10 years. Last year, she abandoned the acoustic singer-songwriter thing and got a full, five-piece rock band. They released Scout, a three-song EP, and played TBD Fest, but otherwise kept things pretty quiet.

On a more personal level, Sky grew up in a conservative household—one that treated boys and girls very differently. And she was homeschooled for years, sending teenage Sky into speechless, frightened shock once high school came around. She got married and divorced before age 22. She fell into depression.

But now, she’s at her “bravest, not-caring-est” ever. She’s ready to speak out.

“You can easily read 1,000 stories about being a teenage boy, or 1,000 stories on how to be a sexy girl,” she says. “But what about being a 13-year-old girl, told that you’re vulnerable, that you’re different?”

Sky says she’s exploring her own childhood, her relationship with her dad—who was diagnosed with Huntington’s Disease five years ago—as well as past trauma to create a full illustration of the life of a young, modern woman. And even at 26 and her boldest, there’s plenty deep down weighing on her.

“Sometimes, you still feel subconsciously guilty, weird and it’s not fair,” she says. “Living in fear of who you are, feeling stigmatized, it’s not fair.”

The album is about half-written so far, and Sky plans to give it as much time as it needs.

Sky and her band used a method acting-form of songwriting this time around. Sky has been accumulating a massive file of inspiring images for the past year as a starting point, then she tries to become the idea or emotion that surfaces. “All these thoughts come out that are slightly more crazy and slightly more true,” she says.

Musically, expect the band to tread into more adventurous, ambient indie rock territory—more electronic sounds, bells, xylophone and recorded atmospheric sounds, for example. Sky says she’s been listening to a lot of Polica and Warpaint lately.

In the meantime, look for updates on Autumn Sky’s Facebook page.