Q&A: Mollie Elizabeth Gets Personal on “The Disappearing Girl”
INTERVIEW
INTERVIEW
☆ BY MOLLY PECK ☆
HAUNTINGLY BEAUTIFUL IS THE THEME—of singer/songwriter Mollie Elizabeth's latest single, "The Disappearing Girl." Her rich vocals have a classic but bold sound, reminiscent of artists like MARINA and Raye, which gives the track a vintage feel. However, the story it tells of a woman about to go on stage but still feels invisible is distinctly current. Blending timeless and modern elements is Elizabeth's specialty, showcased on her recent EP, Dirty Blonde, and in "The Disappearing Girl."
Heavily inspired by the sound and visual aesthetic of the 1950s and 1960s, Elizabeth creates art with a deliberate whimsy that makes her music unique, but easy to love. Her breakout single, "Vegas Venetian," introduced listeners to her powerful vocals and playful storytelling. "I'm not a goddess, but I'm feeling Grecian," she croons on the track, while packing up a vintage leather suitcase and standing on a foggy train platform in the music video. It perfectly encapsulates what Mollie Elizabeth is all about: lyrical storytelling, beautiful visuals and a flair for drama.
With the release of Dirty Blonde this past June, which was co-written and produced with Dean Reid and Casey Smith, Elizabeth continued to build on these themes. The lead single, "Doe Eyes," plays with a more coquettish style, and you can practically hear Elizabeth pouting while telling off her ex for making her cry. The percussion and production heavily reference the 50s style prevalent throughout Elizabeth's work, while her delivery of the vocals elevates the track to fit in with the current pop zeitgeist. The EP also sonically references the mid-2000s indie scene and the 1920s and ‘30s, with Elizabeth including her preferred instrument, the ukulele, on "Riptide Roller" and “Until We Meet Again.” The wide range of musical references might not work for someone else, but for Elizabeth, it only makes her work more enticing.
While working on her latest single, "The Disappearing Girl," Elizabeth decided to dive deeper into her personal experiences and expand on the motifs of her previous work. Co-written with CJ Baran and Madison Love, "The Disappearing Girl" has a melancholy about it that lends it a more introspective tone than Elizabeth's previous work. On the track, Elizabeth explores her feelings surrounding identity and how she is seen through others' eyes—with her signature whimsical twist, of course. The black-and-white visualizer for the song shows Elizabeth wearing a gauzy, vintage gown blowing in the wind, completing the metaphor by turning her into a ghostly figure herself.
We recently sat down with Mollie Elizabeth to talk about "The Disappearing Girl," where to catch her playing live and what the future holds.
Photo by Rachel Demy
LUNA: For those who might be unfamiliar with your work, could you share some of your inspirations and influences?
ELIZABETH: I grew up listening mostly to music from the 1950s and 1960s—more of the romantic era from my mom's side, like Rosemary Clooney, Doris Day, Connie Francis, and a little bit of that rock and roll in the ‘60s from my dad, like The Zombies and The Kinks. I've always felt really connected to that music, and I've always wondered why I didn't hear it more often, like when I went to school or when I went to the mall. So I've always taken a lot of inspiration from that music, and I think there's something so magical about that sound. There's something so intimate about the way that that music was made, and you can hear it, and I strive to at least get close to that feeling. Of course, I don't want to sit here and say I'm trying to, like, recreate music from the ‘50s or the ‘60s, but I definitely will say I am heavily inspired.
LUNA: Going off of that, there's a specific aesthetic that carries through your music videos, Instagram posts, and even your music. How would you describe that aesthetic?
ELIZABETH: Oh, gosh. I think the way that I ended up at this aesthetic, or this sense of style, was just trying out different things and seeing what made me feel the most happy and the most like myself. I tried the more goth side of things—I had a nose ring once, if people were there for that! I did that because I felt scared of the world, and I thought if I made myself scary, that would make the world less scary, when in fact, for me personally, it actually made me feel really sad. So I've just, in the last, I don't know, five years or so of my life, been trying to add this whimsy and fantastical element to my life that makes me excited to get up in the morning. Because why not go to the grocery store dressed like a princess? Why wouldn't I do that? It's so fun and I feel so pretty!
LUNA: Your first EP, Dirty Blonde, just came out a few months ago. Do you see the new single, “The Disappearing Girl,” as a continuation of that story or the beginning of a new era?
ELIZABETH: Ooh, I think it's a little bit of both. Dirty Blonde displayed some very, I don't want to say surface level, because that sounds really bad. I feel like no artist should ever call their music surface level. But for the first music that I ever got to put out, there's only so deep that you can get. I feel like “The Disappearing Girl” holds this melancholy inside of it that I didn't get to showcase in Dirty Blonde, and an eeriness to it that I've always loved infusing into my music. It has this juxtaposition between very beautiful but also a little bit spooky. So it is kind of a start to a new era. Maybe like if Dirty Blonde went to Spirit Halloween for the first time.
LUNA: You said “The Disappearing Girl” is a more personal song for you. Can you talk a little bit about the story behind it?
ELIZABETH: It is more of a personal song, so I won't get into the nitty-gritty. But as a kid, especially as someone who was going to public school, I always felt I was a little bit of an outcast. I had to leave school early sometimes because I was having struggles with my health. I was placed into this group, like, oh, “she's the weirdo, she has issues.” That was the label that was placed on me. That’s obviously, like, a deeper meaning, but essentially, it was a label that I carried with me for the rest of my days in school. “The Disappearing Girl” is an ode to that feeling of your struggles being sensationalized. Instead of being seen for who you are, all they see is, “she's not doing well,” turning it into a box that you can put someone into that is fun and mysterious, and, “Ooh, let's talk about it and find out what's going on.” I think that we really hit the nail on the head with that vibe in “The Disappearing Girl.” The phrasing of that really reminded me of older circus-y stuff, so a lot of the imagery in the song is about getting ready to go on a stage, or being sawed in half by a magician. I think that’s something a lot of people can relate to, especially women, is being objectified, just being this act to put on for the world, rather than being a true, real human being.
LUNA: What was it like working with CJ Baran and Madison Love on such a personal song?
ELIZABETH: Oh my gosh, amazing. When I wrote this song, I was in LA and doing quite a few sessions. Usually, the way that I make sure that I have enough stuff to write about is by going on Pinterest. Pinterest is your friend! I found this photo on Pinterest that must have been from a book or something, but it just said The Disappearing Girl, and all of us were like, that's such a vibe. I don't know what it was. We all were just on the same page.
CJ and Madison are the kindest people. We are all able to get on the same creative wavelength where there's no room for judgment, because we're just all thinking, how can we—this sounds strange—give birth to this song together, collectively, so the song was very easy to make with them. CJ is so talented, Madison is so talented, and so amazing to work with. There wasn't even a moment where I felt I needed to explain why or how or who this song was about. It was just: this is what it is. This is what we need to say in this song, and they were like, “Yeah, let's do it.”
Photo by Sophia Schrank
LUNA: You've shared videos of yourself playing the ukulele on Instagram, and it makes appearances in several of your songs. How did you start playing the ukulele? Do you play any other instruments?
ELIZABETH: I started the ukulele a little bit out of rebellion. I was made to do piano lessons, which I did not want to do. Of course I loved music, but I think personally as an artist, being told to just play “Hot Cross Buns” is a little bit like torture. I really didn't like that. Once I quit that, I saved up my money when I was pretty young, and I got a ukulele off of Amazon. This was around the era of Grace VanderWaal. There's this YouTuber named Dodie, who I loved, and she played ukulele, and this was also around the time when I started having crushes on boys. I just thought, if I'm going to write songs about boys, I'm going to need to sing them with something, so I taught myself the ukulele just by watching YouTube videos.
Unfortunately, because I was so young and because I learned from YouTube videos, I'm stuck playing left-handed now, because I was mirroring the person on the screen. I'm not left-handed, and now I'm trying to transition over to the guitar, and finding a left-handed guitar? Good lord, what a mess and a nightmare. But I do still play a little bit of piano, nothing fancy, but I know enough chords to write a little tune. “Vegas Venetian” was written on my keyboard. But yeah, ukulele is crazy. It was mostly that I wanted to start making music, and I did it.
LUNA: You have a show coming up with Lindstrom & The Limit and Iris on November 25. What is your favorite part of performing live?
ELIZABETH: I will be honest, I'm still getting used to going on the stage. But I think my favorite part is once those first jitters start to melt away, there's a part of me that just feels like a little kid again. Like I’m standing on the fireplace mantle and being like, “watch me do my little dance, watch me sing my little song.” At the end of the day, as a young creative, you always have something to say and you want to share it. It's just, you know, now I'm on a stage in front of lots of grown people, not a bunch of kindergarteners. So my favorite part is when those jitters melt away and I'm able to just share my story with this crowd of people. It's just like magic. You know how people want to be able to like, read each other's minds? I think music is the closest way that you get to that, because it's this personal flow of vibrations and words and stuff. Being able to share that with a crowd of strangers and have them just listen and take it in is the best.
LUNA: Is this also the first time you'll be performing “The Disappearing Girl” live?
ELIZABETH: No, I've been naughty, and I have been performing it prior to it being released. I have told the crowd before I played it, they have to “shush, shush, shush.” Can't say anything. I will say, I'm glad I've had more practice performing it, because there are some parts of that song where there are some really long notes that, when you're feeling jittery, are hard to hold, so I'm grateful I've had the practice. But no, it will not be the first time I'm performing “The Disappearing Girl,” but I feel like there will be a little special sauce on this next performance now that it's out.
LUNA: What's next for you? Is there a new project in the works?
ELIZABETH: I’m always writing, always doing something. I do have an EP in the works right now. It’s kind of a continuation of “The Disappearing Girl” vibe, of getting a little bit more personal and a little bit into the eerier side of my story, which I'm really excited for. It's been fun, but still in the works. Sometimes it's hard being in such a positive place in life right now, and wanting to write about some darker places in life. I need to, like, get into the sad mindset; but also I feel very professional and like an “actress” when I do that. It's been fun.
