This essay examines the work of singer-songwriter William Fitzsimmons as an example of how confessional performance is constructed within indie music. I contend that both audiences and artists participate in a discourse that draws on narratives of personal communication, intimacy and authenticity in order to create a distinctively confessional aesthetic. This aesthetic orientation is then reflected in performances that are framed as autobiographical and truth-telling. After surveying aspects of indie music that contribute to the formation of this aesthetic, I trace the implications of performed confession through an exploration of the sonic, visual and relational characteristics of Fitzsimmons's performances from his 2008 albumThe Sparrow and the Crow.By examining how artist and audience construct the confessional, I suggest a new perspective on how the confessional trope operates in indie music.

中文翻译：

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私人话语，公共情感：独立音乐中的表白

这篇文章以创作歌手威廉·菲茨西蒙斯的作品为例，探讨了独立音乐中忏悔表演是如何构建的。我认为，观众和艺术家都参与了一种利用个人交流、亲密和真实性叙述的话语，以创造一种独特的忏悔美学。这种审美取向随后反映在被框定为自传和讲真话的表演中。在调查了促成这种美学形成的独立音乐的各个方面之后，我通过探索 Fitzsimmons 2008 年专辑中表演的声音、视觉和关系特征来追溯表演忏悔的含义麻雀和乌鸦。通过研究艺术家和观众如何构建忏悔式，我提出了一个关于忏悔式比喻如何在独立音乐中运作的新视角。