"swan heart" was released digitally on October 15, 2022. In collaboration with Daemon TV, a UK based record label, the album was also released on cassette (edition of 50) with a zine designed by nina gala. 

In the summer of 2020, gala found herself at the end of a six year long partnership, in the middle of a pandemic and living alone for the first time. Over the next six months, with not much more than a mattress on the floor and her amp plugged into the wall, she started writing the songs which would become her debut album, "swan heart". With support from emerging Baltimore-based producer Erik Schwarzenberg, who co-produced the album, gala has expanded her sonic universe from sparse voice and guitar only compositions to include bass written by gala herself, percussion, and string arrangements by Jon Birkholz (Super City, Soul Cannon). While emotive storytelling remains at the center of gala's practice, these embellishments help "swan heart" stand out as the most sophisticated piece in the artist's collection.