Lola Scott has been part of the Australian pop landscape since 2018, breaking through with her debut EP, '¼ Life Crisis'.
Her 2022 'Breakfast For Dinner' record further cemented her status as an artist with impact. So far in 2023, Lola has kept busy with a stack of live shows supporting the likes of Men I Trust and Holly Humberstone as well as continuing to write new music.Last week, Lola released her new single 'High School Drama' – an addictively sharp blend of '90s grunge, dream-pop and the witty lyricism the Sydney local is becoming known for.
"I wrote 'High School Drama' about avoiding the drama of schoolyard gossip and a bit about how great my ass is and taking back my power back from relationships that don't serve me."
A track that sounds like it's been plucked straight out of '10 Things I Hate About You', the tongue-in-cheek lyrics written by "embracing the chaos of joke lyrics, writing all the dumb things that came straight to my mind without trying to make too much sense of them" make for three minutes of screameable, punchy, anthemic hooks and an electric live rendition.
Ahead of her BIGSOUND showcases in Brisbane next week, we get to know Lola better.
For those only just discovering Lola Scott what's the elevator pitch for your sound/ style?
For fans of the '90s, Avril Lavigne and a lot of guitar. I originally started out as a classical guitarist and have been incorporating a lot more guitar into my new music.
I'm super inspired by a lot of '90s music that I grew up listening to, but in saying that it doesn't necessarily reflect directly into my music. I grew up listening to a lot of Joy Division and The Cure, and a LOT of Avril Lavigne.
2023 so far has seen you playing a stack of live shows and co-writing with other artists; how have those experiences shaped your journey and paved the path for your short-mid term aspirations?
Yes! I've played a lot of live shows this year and feel incredibly lucky to have played with a few bands that I admire a lot (a lot of pinch-me moments) especially touring with Men I Trust as main support across all their sold-out shows, and supporting Holly Humberstone.
It feels so special when artists you admire choose you as support acts. I think getting to see those shows live every night on tour – especially CLEWS and Men I Trust who I supported on longer tours – made me think about how I can bring different elements of their sound into what I do live.
It's been a few months since you dropped your collab with Xavier Dunn 'One On One'; you're about to release new single 'High School Drama' – how does this new release showcase Lola Scott right now (I can hear Wet Leg vibes!)?
Yes!! 'High School Drama' is definitely a big pivot for me. It was super fun when we were writing the song in the studio, we were kind of writing the lyrics as a joke saying all of the things that came to my head straight away.
It's very far away from the last one with Xavier Dunn, but I do love that one also. I think it's the Gemini in me that I have two very different sides to my personality that I like to showcase through the duality of my music.
'High School Drama' is definitely more of the fun, cheeky side of me and super high energy to perform live. But I do like writing a lot of more intimate songs also – there's plenty more of those more intimate ones to come.
Lyrically, it's a playful song that's not too serious but still presents bigger picture ideals; is that an important aspect of your music to craft songs that straddle both fun and serious?
Yes! That's what I was saying in my last answer actually.
I definitely feel like I have those two different sides of my personality – the fun, gremlin side of me and the serious part of me that likes to feel and explore and express my emotions very deeply. The serious side of me feels like diving deeper into the pain I'm feeling and emotions. The fun part is for when sometimes you just want to be avoidant of how things are really going and any pain in your life.
I guess 'High School Drama' was one of those days where we just wanted to mess around and have a good time making music with friends. It's definitely not too serious.
You recently signed with Chugg Music; no doubt a massive step in your own career, how did the relationship come about and what do you see the future being with the Chugg crew in your corner?
I started working with Chugg because my guitarist talks A LOT (shout out Ryan Sorenson) and he's always going around talking up my music to everyone including the Chugg team who ended up loving what we had in store, and the rest is history.
You'll be showcasing at BIGSOUND... what do you have planned to wow new audiences that will also intrigue industry heads?
I'll be playing a lot of unreleased tracks (hint) at BIGSOUND – actually I'll only be playing songs that are unreleased for my showcase.
The new sound of Lola Scott that you'll hear soon was written with a live band in mind so there will be a bigger band for these shows, but still a few super intimate, acoustic-style moments that showcase the range of my sound. There's a lot less synth and a lot more grungy guitars, but still have the intimacy of a lot of nylon guitar moments.
You've written a number of songs with grentperez that feature on his EP as well as credits with Vera Blue, JXN, GRAACE and others; the art of collaboration, it's obviously something you're drawn to; but what exactly about that creative process do you enjoy?
I really love that songwriting sessions are the fastest icebreaker for a friendship.
I think that if both people can go in with very open hearts and open minds then you can share parts of your personality that you wouldn't necessarily see as quickly if you were meeting people under different circumstances.
I've always loved that you can make deeper connections with people through the art of collaboration. And it's always interesting to see what your two brains will create together on that day – because it would never be the same as if you were in a different situation or a different mood or with different people.
You're also a session guitarist for a number of indie acts; how do those creative pursuits influence (if at all) your own original compositions?
I've been a session guitarist for quite a while now and it's actually how I started leaning more into pop music at the start of Lola Scott.
I was influenced by seeing how they ran different layers of instrumentation and more electronic elements of the set for live shows, and I learnt how to do that myself when I started MDing for other artists (musical directing). I think I'm leaning further away from the electronic, heavy live sets and trying to bring it back to as much live instrumentation as we can.
You've been touring with Teenage Dads in NSW-VIC... what are those lads like and any stories you can share from the road?
They are great lads. We're only a few shows in so no crazy stories but everyone has been so lovely to hang out with.
Actually I got to hang out with them all quite a bit at Splendour In The Grass and I accidentally sprayed some mandarin in Vinnie's eye and I was wondering if they were going to kick me off the tour. But luckily they didn't!
Thanks for your time; anything else you'd like to add?
I'm really looking forward to sharing this new era with you all. I feel like this is more myself than I've ever been and it feels good to be going back to the roots of why I loved music in the first place by delving into a lot more guitar driven music.
There's going to be a lot of different moods across the upcoming singles that I'll be dropping. But that's all I can say for now!
Lola Scott showcases at BIGSOUND (Brisbane) with shows at Black Bear Lodge 5 September (11pm) and The Brightside 6 September (11pm).
