Alex Sauser-Monnig, also known as Daughter of Swords, is an American musician. Sauser-Monnig has released two albums as Daughter of Swords: ''Dawnbreaker'' (2019) and ''

Alex Alex is a given name. Similar names are Alexander, Alexandra, Alexey or Alexis. People Multiple * Alex Brown (disambiguation), multiple people * Alex Cook (disambiguation), multiple people * Alex Forsyth (disambiguation), multiple people * Al ...

'' (2025). They are also a member of

Mountain Man A mountain man is an Geographical exploration, explorer who lives in the wilderness and makes his living from hunting, fishing and trapping. Mountain men were most common in the North American Rocky Mountains from about 1810 through to the 1880s ...

Background

Sauser-Monnig is originally from

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

. After nearly 10 years away from Mountain Man, Sauser-Monnig began to record solo material; before ''Dawnbreaker'' was completed, however, Mountain Man regrouped to record ''Magic Ship'' (2018). The name "Daughter of Swords" refers to a

tarot Tarot (, first known as ''trionfi (cards), trionfi'' and later as ''tarocchi'' or ''tarocks'') is a set of playing cards used in tarot games and in fortune-telling or divination. From at least the mid-15th century, the tarot was used to play t ...

card, which Sauser-Monnig describes as "sort of a card about not letting things that have inhibited you in the past stand in your way as you move forward into your future."

''Dawnbreaker'' (2019)

''Dawnbreaker'', Daughter of Swords' debut album, was released by

Bella Union Bella Union is a British independent record label founded in 1997 by Simon Raymonde and Robin Guthrie of Cocteau Twins. It is now run solely by Raymonde. History After releasing records with 4AD for a large part of their career, Cocteau Twin ...

on June 28, 2019. It was preceded by the single "Gem". Having originally planned to use only vocals and guitar, on returning to ''Dawnbreaker'' Sauser-Monnig worked with Nick Sanborn of the electropop duo

Sylvan Esso Sylvan Esso is an American electropop duo from Durham, North Carolina which was formed in 2013. The band consists of singer Amelia Meath (born July 2, 1988) and producer Nick Sanborn (born March 8, 1983). They made their debut with the single " ...

to incorporate other instrumentation. The songs "Grasses" and "Long Leaf Pine" also feature vocals by Mountain Man's Amelia Meath and

Molly Sarlé Molly Sarlé is an American musician. She is a member of the folk group Mountain Man and in 2019 released a solo album, '' Karaoke Angel''. Early life and Mountain Man Sarlé was born in Santa Cruz, California, and attended Bennington College in ...

. ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

''s Linnie Greene described the album as "a 10-song homage to the betwixt and between of a relationship in its twilight," consisting of "folksy riffs on well-trod terrain—heartbreak, confusion, hope that looks like the horizon on an open highway". Greene identified "Long Leaf Pine" as "the record's highest achievement" and commented: "Its hardly a new vista, but Sauser-Monnig's intimate, earthy songs make the view memorable all the same." Bob Fish of ''

Folk Radio UK ''KLOF Magazine'' is an independent online music and culture magazine launched in 2004 by Alex Gallacher. Content ''KLOF Magazine'' primarily features writings on music as well as interviews with a wide range of notable artists and musicia ...

'' commented that ''Dawnbreaker'' combines sadness with an emphasis on exploring new possibilities, and concluded that the album "surprises in the ability to put a positive spin onto some of life's heartbreaking moments." Writing in ''

The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It was launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is Ireland's leading n ...

'', Dean Van Nguyen described the album as "a suite so sophisticated, so nice on the ear, its replay value might well be limitless" and concluded "These are simple songs that are damn-near perfect." Reef Younis of ''

Loud and Quiet ''Loud and Quiet'' is a British bi-monthly music magazine that focuses on new music from underground indie, alternative, electronic and hip hop artists. History and profile The magazine was founded in January 2005 by Stuart Stubbs as a home-print ...

'' praised "Shining Woman", "Fields" and "Rising Sun" and identified the album as "an endearing, uplifting debut where each track feels like it's been softly-spoken into the world and blown away with the breeze." ''

Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly ''Exclaim!'' print magazine publishes seven ...

''s Zahraa Hmood wrote "On ''Dawnbreaker'', ten tracks elegantly come together to tell the story of a person at the crossroads of their life, and a quiet struggle towards contentment", and praised "Human" as "a poignant, but transformative, moment." In ''

The Arts Desk ''The Arts Desk'' (theartsdesk.com) is a British arts journalism website containing reviews, interviews, news, and other content related to music, theatre, television, films, and other art forms written by journalists from a variety of tradition ...

'', Kieron Tyler noted "Sauser-Monnig's ebb-and-flow melodies, the transparency of her voice and the immediacy of delivery" and concluded "''Dawnbreaker'' could be a live album. And it's in this setting that it'll probably acquire an added directness."

''Alex'' (2025)

Daughter of Swords' second album, ''

'', was released in April 2025. The album was produced by Sauser-Monnig, Amelia Meath and Nick Sanborn, and two songs were co-written by Meath. Sauser-Monnig identified

The Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and their f ...

Broadcast Broadcasting is the data distribution, distribution of sound, audio audiovisual content to dispersed audiences via a electronic medium (communication), mass communications medium, typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum (radio waves), ...

Cat Power Charlyn Marie "Chan" Marshall ( ; born January 21, 1972), better known by her stage name Cat Power, is an American singer-songwriter. Cat Power was originally the name of her first band, but has become her stage name as a solo artist. Born in ...

The Cure The Cure are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Crawley in 1976 by Robert Smith (musician), Robert Smith (vocals, guitar) and Lol Tolhurst (drums). The band's current line-up comprises Smith, Perry Bamonte (guitar and keyboards), Reev ...

Aldous Harding Hannah Sian Topp (born 1990), known professionally as Aldous Harding, is a New Zealand indie folk singer-songwriter, based in Lyttelton, New Zealand. Career One of the first musicians who came across her was New Zealand folk-pop singer-songwrit ...

John Lurie John Lurie (born December 14, 1952) is an American musician, painter, actor, director, and producer. He co-founded the Lounge Lizards jazz ensemble; has acted in 19 films, including ''Stranger than Paradise'' and '' Down by Law''; has composed ...

Robert Palmer Robert Allen Palmer (19 January 1949 – 26 September 2003) was an English singer and songwriter. He was known for his powerful and soulful voice, sartorial elegance and stylistic explorations, combining soul, funk, jazz, rock, pop, regga ...

Radiohead Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon-on-Thames, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band members are Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Gre ...

Robyn Robin Miriam Carlsson (; born 12 June 1979), known professionally as Robyn (), is a Swedish singer, songwriter, record producer, and DJ. Her 1995 debut album ''Robyn Is Here'' produced two Billboard Hot 100, ''Billboard'' Hot 100 top 10 single ...

, S. E. Rogie,

Brenton Wood Alfred Jesse Smith (July 26, 1941 – January 3, 2025), known professionally as Brenton Wood, was an American singer and songwriter. Three 1967 singles of Wood's, " The Oogum Boogum Song" (peaking at No. 34 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100), " G ...

and

Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian and American singer-songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, forming the folk rock group Buffalo Springfield. Since the begi ...

as influences on the album, and described the album as "a happy-sounding record about the death of humanity on planet Earth". Reviewing the albun for ''

Paste Paste is a term for any very thick viscous fluid. It may refer to: Science and technology * Adhesive or paste ** Wallpaper paste ** Wheatpaste, a liquid adhesive made from vegetable starch and water * Paste (rheology), a substance that behaves as ...

'', Andy Crump described the album as eclectic and "distinctly modern" by contrast to Daughter of Swords' earlier work. In ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spin (physics) or particle spin, a fundamental property of elementary particles * Spin quantum number, a number which defines the value of a particle's spin * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thr ...

'', Brendan Hay wrote that ''Alex'' sounded like the work of "an entirely different artist" from ''Dawnbreaker'' and characterised it as "a refreshing album for our current moment, when we're all seeking connections – with others, our world, and even ourselves – in an increasingly disconnected world."

Other work

The single "Alone Together" was released in October 2024. In 2022, Sauser-Monnig and Mountain Man bandmate Amelia Meath formed The A's, who released their debut album, ''Fruit'', in July 2022.

Discography

*''Dawnbreaker'' (2019) *''

'' (2025)

References

External links

Official website
{{authority control Living people American folk singers 21st-century American singer-songwriters American country singers Singer-songwriters from Minnesota Year of birth missing (living people)