By: Josh Kitchen / June 28, 2024
All photos by: Jacq Justice
"If I move to LA/the San Fernando Valley/where the people always pay/too much to be unhappy," meg elsier sings on "LA," the closing track off her haltingly beautiful debut album, spittake. Hailing from Boston, and based in Nashville, meg elsier writes honest, biting, and often self-deprecating lyrics, accompanied with haulting, synth and crunchy guitar soundscapes. elsier makes you believe that she has been putting out this sort of dreamy shoegaze music for a decade. Preceded by only four singles, including the oustanding "oldnews," and the heavy "iznotreal,"spittake is an album made by an artist who is not only confident in their sound, but proud to celebrate the musicians who came before her and paved the way.
elsier was intentional about when and how she released these songs before the album dropped, telling me that she developed her sound with the help of her collaborators, eager to give credit to her friends and writing partners, a living breathing example of the DIY scene in Nashville that she has made a name for herself in. I was thrilled to chat with elsier about recording in a studio for the first time, getting her wisdom teeth out this week, the films that inspired spittake, what she's listening to, and the album release show she has coming up in Nashville on July 18.
Your debut album, spittake is out today. Tell me about it.
It’s the first thing I've ever done. It was a big learning experience and process of really figuring out who I am as an artist. I learned that I have a lot of freedom in the moment and realized that shit can change all the time. There’s a lot of freedom in realizing I don’t need to make everything so precious. This is the first thing I’ve put out as an artist, and it’s a full-length album of songs I really love that I feel represent me. I feel so weird because I’m psychotically excited but at the same time I’m getting my wisdom teeth out tomorrow.
Are you going under?
I get the laughing gas and I think they'll give me something for pain. I should go on live and be like, everybody listen to the record now! But I got to work with my best friends on this, so when I release it, it’s a lot less scary and more, oh, I get to celebrate with my friends who made it and just reminisce in what we did together.
How was recording music in a studio setting different than what you expected?
I always knew that the way that I recorded demos is not how can record with other people. By myself I can do takes really fast and delete everything, and I’m the only one doing it. Recording in a studio was scary because logistically, you’re paying for a space where you have a finite amount of time to get a performance in. We went in with the people who played, who are incredible, amazing friends, and they had the music in front of them because we wanted it to be a collaboration in the moment. There’s that anxiety that’s always sort of there, but my producer, Ryan [McFadden], was so incredibly great at communicating, that if there were any problems, you’d never know. He’s so great at dealing with the situation and keeping me in a mental space where it was safe to be creative and not get in my head about it. What I didn’t know was how fucking psycho you can go when you’re in there for like ten hours.
It seems for the most part your first recording experience was pretty positive.
Oh, for sure. I'm just in the process of learning so much because I haven’t put out a record, so, at this point, everything's a win because I get that experience.
I think that’s what makes the singles so great, especially on a song like “oldnews,” is if someone heard it, I don’t think they’d think, oh this is one of her first songs. It sounds fresh, but also has this familiar 90s era sound combined with your very dreamy pop-forward vocals.
I was very intentional on when I released music, and when it felt right to create with other people and collaborate. I wouldn’t have released anything earlier, or have changed anything, because I spent so much time discovering what I like to sound like and learning how to express myself with other people. It’s nice when it doesn’t necessarily feel like my first project. I’m glad to be on a foundation where I feel incredibly solid and I’m proud of that.
The album feels very cinematic. I read in another interview you were influenced by Vangelis’ Blade Runner soundtrack. Can you talk about that influence of film and soundtracks on your music?
I'm really trying not to give the most film bro answers. Here’s the thing, Tarantino soundtracks are like mixtapes. They’re fucking incredible. I don’t care if you don’t like the movies, the soundtracks are so good. Obviously, there’s Barry Lyndon and Kubrick’s movies. I specifically love the classical music in film. There’s also the Sound of Metal, Mandy, I fucking love The Tree of Life. The Revenant!
Mandy is so wild.
I just really like movies where the music is a huge character or part of the plot in a massive way. Mandy to me feels like a music video in the way its shot and edited. It feels so metal. Those movies were definitely in my head when I was recording.
Nicolas Cage in Mandy, directed by Panos Cosmatos
The natural follow-up question: Are you on Letterboxd?
Okay, yes, but here's the thing. There's too much fucking pressure for Letterboxd. Everybody's finding everybody's accounts. I do it very rarely, and when I do, I’ll pop up and do a shit ton, but all my reviews are fuck/marry/kill for the characters in the movie. I don’t do reviews, I do fuck/marry/kill.
Who’s your dream collab?
Charli XCX. Anybody would die. I’ve been so inspired by the Carolines [Polachek], the Bjorks', the Grimes', these champions who didn’t search for an audience. They completely crafted their own scene in their music, and built the ground up. I think their language is so vast and unique, I would love to tap in to that. Charli is the same way, I just love people who like to have a say in everything, whether it be the production, the costumes, the videos, or the way they perform on stage.
We’re in a very cool moment for pop music. Femme and queer artists are dominating the conversation now.
I’m so inspired by it right now, and I'm so excited for younger artists. I can't imagine if your brain is still actually developing, and you get to absorb music like this. I’m going to be fucking stoked for the music that comes out that was inspired by the Charli, or Sophie, or Caroline. I also think that there's like, so much to be said, and so much being said within that. The Charli and Lorde remix of “Girl, So Confusing”, for example. Lyrically what that stands for is psychotically important to female friendships. I could go on forever about that song. It’s making these super important points that nobody talks about accessible in pop music. I’m just loving it.
We really are in Brat summer.
I'm obsessed.
The last track on the album is called “LA.” Can you talk about that and what Los Angeles means to you?
I don’t want to give too much away. I'm an East Coast baby, that's where I belong. Something very strange happens to me in LA. If you listen to “forlyleinsanfrancisco,” there are some things touched upon in that song of thoughts that come into my head when I go to California. “LA” is just based on the multiple times that I’ve been to LA where I didn’t understand my time there, or how it worked. LA is a different animal, and something I’m just not used to. It’s sort of just a stream of consciousness about the way I felt, explaining how an aast coast girl can’t fit in there. It just seems like it’s not in my blood to do that. Growing up in a small town in Massachusetts, I was on Zillow every night looking up places in LA, because it was like the furthest away you can get. It was the dream. Then growing up I get there and I’m like, what? When I play it live, I like to say its my love song to LA. That might make more sense when you listen to it.
Who should we be listening to?
I like this band, Girl Pusher. They have this song called "A Lot of Boys Like Me Though." I scream it in the car. It’s so aggressive in an incredible way, and I just love the tone they use and the way they scratch my brain. There’s so many great bands in Nashville. Razor Braids and Baby Wave make some of my favorite music. Wilby in Nashville. My really good friend Mar just recorded a debut album and that comes out soon. All my recs are just my friend and that’s really exciting.
All photos by: Jacq Justice
Tell me about the spittake album release show in Nashville on July 18.
It's going to be so fucking fun. My favorite person to work with is my best friend and collaborator, Jacq Justice. We wanted to get some photos and teasers for the album, and we were coming up with ideas, and she said, do you want to just eat a bowl of pasta and look at the camera? I said absolutely. I don’t want to brag about my acting skills, but I don’t like red sauce very much. She was getting so mad because I was acting like I was on Fear Factor. “I cooked the pasta, it’s fine!” That imagery just stuck with us, so when we were planning the show, everything just came together in that family dinner kind of theme. My friend Megan is going to DJ, Razor Braids and Baby Wave are playing. I just get to play with bands and specifically really femme forward bands that rock. Playing with bands who you love is just so fun. It’s at Soft Junk in Nashville which is one of the funnest DIY venues. I’ve seen so many good shows there, so to be able to play there on my own...I’m just so excited.
spittake by meg elsier is out now and you can listen here: https://lnk.to/spittake
Poster designed by: Sarah Goldstein
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