originally published: 09/30/2024
Photo by Talia Stewart
googly eyes has released her debut EP, Starlet, following up knockout single "Internet Star" and her stunning introduction, "Bareback on the Motherfucking Plains". Starlet will be a landmark release for not just the artist but her label as well, as googly eyes is the first outside artist signed to Tove Lo’s independent label Pretty Swede Records.
Pretty Swede Records is an independent label founded in 2022 by Tove Lo. To date, Pretty Swede has released Tove’s 2023 LP Dirt Femme and her collaborative 2024 HEAT EP with SG Lewis. googly eyes’ Starlet EP marks the first release by Pretty Swede outside of Tove’s own artist project.
Pretty Swede have signed googly eyes in collaboration with Tove’s longtime collaborators Neon Gold, themselves known for a star-studded history of debut releases, from Tove’s own Truth Serum EP in 2014 (featuring “Habits”) to iconic early releases from Charli XCX, Marina & The Diamonds, Christine and the Queens, Ellie Goulding and more.
googly eyes says: “Starlet is a sweet little tasting menu of six songs, each pulled from a different corner of my emotions. It’s a full palette: moments of reckless abandon, doubt, confidence, anger, optimism, and deep love — all pieced together from stories I’ve been living and weaving over the past year. Crafting these from the ground up has been such a rewarding process, and having Tove Lo’s like-minded creative energy alongside me has made it all the more special. Starlet marks a new phase in my journey for me as an artist, one where I'm fully leaning in."
Tove Lo says: "googly eyes is such an incredible artist, writer and producer, and her new EP is full of gold. Internet Star has such a beautiful yet witty vulnerability that I think anyone who’s had dreams that maybe didn’t go their way can relate to. I’m very excited for this project to be the first new artist release on Pretty Swede Records! Of course together with my friends at Neon Gold."
As an artist, songwriter, and producer, googly eyes lives in a sonic world entirely of her own making. With a focus on vocal production, electronic influences, and poetic lyricism, googs paints vivid soundscapes blending raw, human elements with angular, synthetic ones. What began as a project for demos and works in progress has grown into a force of creativity, rich innovation, and play. “Bareback” is the first taste of brilliant things to come for googly eyes, recorded and produced 100% by googs herself, a fully self-contained and fully realized statement of intent announcing an exciting new chapter for the Houston native.
“Bareback” is about the moment when you realize there is no way out but through. I built Bareback around the line "there's something there to tame." It led to the visual in my mind of this wild, free, uncontrollable thing - and solidified the oddness of that "thing" being my own brain. I wrote “Bareback” after feeling jealous and betrayed over something I shouldn’t have - you know those moments where logically, you’re not allowed to be upset about something, but emotionally, you’re at the mercy of the pain? Bareback is a reflection on how our thoughts can have a mind of their own, and how uncomfortable it is to be your own adversary.”
googly eyes - Starlet EP - track list:
01. Bareback on the Motherfucking Plains
02. Internet Star
03. Brand New Bitch
04. Steady
05. Waste of Conversation
06. Starlet Sellout, Pageant Princess
COLUMNS
Rock On! This Week's Sound Bites...5/15/25
"Well," began Cory Marks with a laugh, "There has been a lot going on with the release of the acoustic track "Sorry For Nothing" and of course, the album just came out in December so, that thing is only a few months old; I'd gone to Nashville for eight days, then went to Toronto for two days of rehearsals before I went to Europe for three weeks. So, it has been hectic and busy and I'm out with Dorothy and that's how I ended up at The Stone Pony."
