Wilby’s Center of Affection began as a creative practice, a result of morning pages that unfurled like stream of consciousness diary entries. It was only in letting go, in a decision to let her strongest ideals bubble from the roots of her subconscious to the top of her mind, that she was able to write her bravest, most beautiful, and strongest effort to date. The magic of Wilby as a band, and Crawford’s songwriting more intimately, is how she takes these very personal and specific feelings and extrapolates them to universal truths, to ideas we all share and struggle with. Center of Affection is a personal reflection of a communal experience.

In that sense, Center of Affection is itself a process, a snapshot of an artist and person discovering themselves in real time. “I like to think of the album as a coming of age story, a journey of connecting with my younger self and giving my younger self space and validation,” she explains. It’s only through this work that Maria Crawford can grow as her adult self. “I’m in pursuit of trying to connect with my younger self and heal my current one,” she concludes. Wilby’s debut record, “Center of Affection”, is out now.