Lauran Hibberd has been introducing herself to listeners with a prominent slacker-pop vision that has been rapidly evolving since the release of her debut EP ‘Everything Is Dogs’. With her second EP ‘Goober’ slated for a July 30 release, the British singer-songwriter has been honing in on her songwriting and finding the sweet spot between humour and vulnerability.
Her new single ‘Bleugh’ is a witty and perfect embodiment of where she is heading towards as an artist. With a spoken delivery reminiscent of Kate Nash shining through with Blur and Weezer gritty production added into the mix, it immediately captivates your attention. Playing as a commentary to the lifestyle of Gen-Z dating, it’s very accurate and defining of a time that is particularly confusing.
I recently chatted to Lauran Hibberd about the creative process behind her new slacker-pop anthem ‘Bleugh’, being afraid of kid slides, her obsession with cabbages and her weird obsession with pop heads. Check it out BELOW;
THOMAS BLEACH: Your new single ‘Bleugh’ is a punchy slacker-pop track that has a really quirky wit to it. So can you explain the creative process behind this track?
LAURAN HIBBERD: It came about in the middle of a bunch of songs I wrote in the first lockdown, and it kind of became a bar setter for me writing wise. I just haven’t fallen out of love with it yet, which is rare for me as I always move on really quickly musically. I took the track to Suzy Shinn and Zac Carper who kind of gave it a “cooler” lease of life and taught me to really let go when spitting out those verses. It kind of got more and more energetic as the process went on.
TB: Sonically it reminds me a lot of the grittier tracks we used to hear from Kate Nash. So what were you sonically referencing during this particular session?
LH: There’s always a lot of Weezer chat. I think Zac bought the ‘FIDLAR’ reference in those verses and there are definitely nods to Green Day, Liz Phair, and even Blur. It’s one of those really well disguised pop tracks I think, I may as well scream from the top of my lungs that I love Katy Perry, which I do!
TB: I really like the lyric; “Anytime you try to call me after 7 weeks alone. I will sit on both my hands and watch it go to answerphone”. When you hear that lyric back now, where does it take you physically or emotively?
LH: Thank you! I love the imagery in that line, I think it’s probably super relatable. It kind of takes me to sitting at my kitchen table, checking the clock every second to see if it was acceptable to text him yet. It’s so weird isn’t it, a tough time to be young I reckon. There’s too many platforms, and too many expectations.
TB: The music video for ‘Bleugh’ is coming very soon. And from the little snippet on your Instagram it looks like a bit of a colourful and nostalgia affair with a ball pit even making an appearance. So what was one of the funniest, weirdest or strangest things to happen during the shoot?
LH: Hell yeah, it was a super fun shoot. Weird being an adult on kid sized swings though, let me tell you that *laughs*. I think the funniest part was my fear of the slide, it’s one of those steep drops and it doesn’t look like much but when you are sat at the top, it’s SCARY *laughs*. Took me about 10 minutes to pluck up the courage to actually go down. It was totally fine. I was over dramatic for sure.
TB: Your new EP ‘Goober’ is out on July 30 and it’s the long awaited follow up to ‘Everything Is Dogs’. So from releasing that EP in 2019 and touring it, to where you are now as an artist, what would you say is the biggest thing you learnt about yourself that as an artist that impacted the creative process of ‘Goober’?
LH: I think the thing I’ve held onto the most, is WHY I am doing what I do, and WHY I am always making music. I think it’s super easy to get bogged down in the business of it all. This EP is just me making the music I want to make, it’s my last baby step towards my debut album and has been really exciting for me. Working with new people and especially my producer Suzy has been awesome. Basically, I fell in love with songwriting again and this is the result.
TB: What is the most surprising thing that people are going to hear, or get to know about you from this upcoming EP?
LH: Probably a track called ‘You Never Looked So Cool’. It’s a bit of a curveball and quite a dark one as well. It definitely shows the other side, but somehow maintains the personality and offbeat humour of my other tracks. I hope people will go “Damn this is tasty, I want the album now”.
TB: The artwork sees you placing your head in a cabbage field which might just be one of the best artworks I’ve seen so far this year. So what does this cover creatively represent in contrast to the EP as a body of work?
LH: Thank you *laughs*! It’s kinda supposed to represent me stepping out into my own lane a little bit, as well as just being an eyesore that would make you stop in a record store and be like “what the hell is this?”. I like having memorable artwork, that kind of flows through to merchandise as well.
TB: Your merch for this EP is pretty on brand too with cabbage pillows available (!!). Was there an item you wanted to get made that you’ve had to put on hold this time around?
LH: *laughs* I think all of my wishes came true on this one. Would have loved some cabbage socks though, I’m crazy on the cabbages. Cabbage hair clips, cabbage dungarees, cabbage tea towels etc.
TB: Now, your Twitter is VERY entertaining and you may just be one of the most underrated people to follow right now. Has there been a time you’ve tweeted something and the next day or even a hour later you were like “why, did I do that”?
LH: Omg always, I cringe at the outfit I wore yesterday yet alone the tweet I did last night. Normally the things I regret the most are the things people react to or love the most *laughs*.
TB: Let’s play a quick game of rapid fire questions, you ready?
LH: Let’s go!
TB: The emoji that best describes my new single ‘Bleugh’ is…
LH: Definitely the green sick face.
TB: When I think of Australia I think of…
LH: Chris Lilley!
TB: The colour of my toothbrush at the moment is…
LH: Yellow
TB: A hobby or weird obsession I picked up during lockdown has been…
LH: I collect pop heads and make them talk to each other. Basically Bratz dolls for adults.
TB: Pineapple on pizza is…
LH: A yes from me!!!
‘Bleugh’ is out now!