Q&A: Alt-Rock Revival: Girl Scout's Latest Single Ignites Passion and Power
BREATHING NEW LIFE INTO THE ALT-ROCK GENRE — Swedish band Girl Scout have returned with their new single “I Just Needed You To Know” since the release of their acclaimed 2023 debut EPs Real Life Human Garbage and Granny Music. Touched with an essence of 90s alt-rock, the track is a powder keg of energy, ready to explode at any moment with erratic guitars, soaring choruses and breakneck drums.
With "I Just Needed You To Know," Girl Scout not only delivers a captivating musical experience but also sparks meaningful conversations about the complexities of human emotions and the importance of fostering empathy and understanding in society.
“The phrase ‘it is what it is’ is one that I hear a lot amongst the older generations,” says vocalist/guitarist Emma Jansson. “To me, it feels like a way to avoid acknowledging hard times or difficult feelings. It’s such a stifling phrase. What if that’s not enough? What if I want more than to grit my teeth and move on? I think there is a clear generational divide when it comes to the language surrounding mental health and the willingness to understand the causes behind it.”
As Girl Scout gears up for their upcoming live performances in the UK and Europe, including a supporting slot on Alvvays' summer tour, the anticipation surrounding their stage presence is palpable. With their reputation for delivering electrifying performances, fans can expect nothing short of a mesmerizing experience as they bring their new music to life on stage.
LUNA: Thank you for sitting down and talking to Luna. Our readers would love to get to know you and your music more. For any readers who aren’t familiar yet, what inspires your artistic style and creative persona?
EMMA: Everyone in the band met playing jazz, but that's not really what we had in common. I think what brought us together was the era of indie music. I started listening to Arctic Monkeys and The Strokes when I was 14. I started studying jazz and then we found each other in going back to our music tastes. We shared that genre from that era that brought us together and that’s what grounded us musically. What we draw influences from now is a lot of classic 90s music such as Blur, Radiohead and Nirvana. How we write music is making what is interesting for us. We're very keen on not sticking to some formula and surprising ourselves, making things fun to play, and I think we're not afraid to be a little whimsical about it. I think that draws from jazz which is so experimental and so much about improvisation. I think we're all very comfortable with turning things on its head and trying to make it interesting. Whether or not we succeed is subjective, but I think that's how we go about it.
LUNA: Say if someone hasn’t heard of your music yet, which song would you introduce to them that best encapsulates your sound and artistic maturity?
EMMA: I feel like “Do You Remember Sally Moore,” because I feel like people define us around that song. I would also pick out “I Just Needed You To Know” because I feel like that's another side that we're playing around with a lot more right now.
LUNA: Your latest single “I Just Needed You To Know” just released and I absolutely adore the 90s alt-rock influences that are heard. What is the inspiration behind the single?
EMMA: Viktor came up with the riff and it was very much of a spur of the moment situation. He started playing it during some rehearsal where we were doing something else. I had some lyrics on my phone and just tried putting something together and it went fairly quickly. When we were going to record it, we wanted to make sure that we captured the energy of the song rather than to overproduce it. We wanted to have a Steve Albini approach with Nirvana and the Pixies, and the intensity was there. We kept it simple and didn’t add elements that didn’t need to be there. We wanted it to be relatively bare and raw.
LUNA: “I Just Needed You To Know” is your first release of the year following your Granny Music EP last fall. Do you think you’ve matured as a band since Granny Music released and how would you describe that growth?
EMMA: I definitely think we've matured. During these past three years that we've been a band, I think we have around like 70 recorded demos. A lot has happened and when we piled together the EPs, we wanted to pick five songs that give some diversity. We definitely have a lot of music that has progressed from that sound since and we're waiting to release more.
LUNA: Have you experimented more or taken any risks – either lyrically, sonically or emotionally – with “I Just Needed You To Know” since your previous releases?
EMMA: We produced this one ourselves, which we haven't done before. We recorded a lot of demos, but we've never actually released something that we've done from beginning to end. We've gotten more comfortable at calling our own shots and doing all of the creative choices. It was definitely very educational and interesting to do it ourselves because we've done so much with demos. I'm really happy with how it turned out. We did everything and that in of itself was an experiment.
LUNA: You are currently touring Europe and the UK. What have been some of your favorite or most memorable experiences so far?
EMMA: We played the Lexington in London last week, and it was really fun. Usually when we've played the UK, it always ends with London and the energy around that show always has to be the best one because it’s the last one and it’s in the biggest city. In the past, I’ve felt more nervous and there was pressure. On this tour, the last London show was so much fun and it was wild that people in another country bought tickets and are seeing our headlining tour. We've done so many support slots that we haven't really had a grasp of who's actually interested in listening to us. Also Kevin, who's subbing for Eve right now on bass, we played a festival and he busted the E string, which is the thickest string on a bass guitar, like three songs in which I didn't know was possible. We're so used to touring at this point that we have the crucial routines of exercising and getting sleep, so that we’re comfortable enough with it to really be present. I feel like we're in the flow of things.
LUNA: What is your favorite song to perform live and why?
EMMA: I really like playing “Do You Remember Sally Moore” which is the first single we released, but it's actually never not fun playing that song. I've never played that song and had a bad time performing it.
LUNA: Do you have any pre-show or post-show rituals that you do to help ensure that you play your best show?
EMMA: We'd huddle with the classic all hands in. It’s always kind of chaotic. We get dinner, get ready and do vocal warm-ups together. There’s this one crazy exercise where you’re supposed to inhale for 12 counts and you’re supposed to hold that breath and then exhale. It feels like an eternity and it feels like you’re going to pass out, but I feel that exercise helps so much. That’s the ritual that we do. I’m also doing my makeup at the same time and it’s just silence.
LUNA: How are you feeling in this current era of your career and what does the rest of the year look like that you would like to share with Luna?
EMMA: We're going to be releasing some more stuff very soon which I'm really excited about. One of the songs that is going to be coming out sometime this year is probably my favorite Girl Scout song by Viktor Spasov, who plays guitar and writes a lot of music. He wrote that song. I love that song so much, it’s called “Headache.” I’m really looking forward to that song. We're gonna be supporting Alvvays in two weeks, which I'm also really excited about. We're set to play some Swedish shows in the fall, which I'm really excited about as well because we've been away a lot. I'm really happy to play where I live and play to my friends and family. We're going to do a lot. It's just a bit too early for me to be too specific about it, but there will be more music. We're going to be doing a lot of things ourselves. I think we cracked the code that we thrive on when we do most of it, which is really stressful, but I feel like it's been more rewarding than anything. We're going to be releasing a little CD with demos. They won't be released on streaming platforms, but we're going to do CDs with some unreleased super early demos that we're going to be selling on the Alvvays tour. I did the artwork for it. We mixed and mastered and did everything ourselves.
