INTERVIEW

TEENAGE JOANS ARE STEPPING INTO A LOUDER, SHARPER—and more fearless chapter with their explosive new single, “Coming Up From Hell.” Fueled by punchy riffs, gritty production and a rebellious energy that refuses to play by industry rules, the track marks a major turning point for the Adelaide-based duo with Cahli Blakers and Tahlia Borg pushing their sound further than ever before.

Driven by raw production, massive hooks and an unapologetic creative vision, “Coming Up From Hell” is a defining moment for Teenage Joans. ”The track fully embraces the chaos and intensity behind its creation while pushing the duo into bold new sonic territory.

The Luna Collective caught up with Teenage Joans to talk about the making of the single, rejecting expectations, the visually striking music video, and why this next chapter might be their boldest yet.

LUNA: First off, congratulations on the release of '”Coming Up for Hell” How does it feel finally getting this song out into the world?

TEENAGE JOANS: Thanks so much! It feels really great. We’re so excited for this next chapter of Teenage Joans. As you can probably hear in this song,we’re diving into a much more mature sound, we’ve been really honing our songwriting and working hard on refining the sonics of the band in the past few years. It’s so exciting to finally show what we’ve been working on.

LUNA: What was the very first idea that sparked '’Coming Up from Hell” a lyric, riff, melody, or emotion?

TEENAGE JOANS: All of the above! It started with that intro guitar riff, we wanted something straight out the gates, punchy, no questions asked. The song is very much about surviving through hard times, and even feeling strong enough after enduring the turmoil to joke about it. “Hell” and “the devil” are metaphors for the music industry. For a while we sorta played the industry game as a band, and we just got sick of it. It’s too restricting, there were people telling us what to do, and we were like hell no, we know exactly who we are and what we want.

LUNA: How did the production of this track evolve from the original demo to the final version?

TEENAGE JOANS: Interestingly enough, apart from retracking instruments and vocals, it actually didn’t change much at all! We demo everything on Garage Band, and some of the synths/keyboards and lead guitar riffs that ended up in the song are actually the raw takes from the demo. This era we really wanted to keep that raw form of the band as much as we can, we find it so important to keep the character of the music as sometimes perfectly polishing a take doesn’t capture that same real energy from the writing process.

LUNA: When building the production for ‘’Coming Up From Hell,’’ how did you balance your signature sound with the more rebellious edge this track brings?

TEENAGE JOANS: In a way it came completely natural to us. We’ve been building up to this since the beginning, so it didn’t take much relearning. It’s just that now we finally have the words, the energy, the space and the maturity to dive into this deeper sound. It still feels like us, and it always will, so long as it’s the two of us writing the music and feeling passionate about it.

LUNA: What was the biggest thing you learned creatively while making this track?

TEENAGE JOANS: This track started a really playful and interesting mindset when it came to writing our next record. When we would write I (Cahli) would go,“What’s the obvious choice here for Teenage Joans? Okay, now let’s do the complete opposite.” I think that mindset really pushed our limits creatively. We learned so much about ourselves and the places we can go in our writing. I never want to be boxed into any rule or genre. I think the true secret to longevity for an artist is to reinvent the sound and try new things, rather than trying to recreate what worked in the past.

LUNA: What part of the recording process ended up being the most challenging or rewarding?

TEENAGE JOANS: Honestly, the actual instrumentation of the song was the toughest to get right. We’ve both really honed our talents instrumentally in the past few years from playing heaps of shows, so that definitely helps when writing and playing trickier and more interesting parts. We definitely push ourselves to our limits physically in the studio, and I think you can hear the energy and how hard we actually work to create these songs. We shed blood, sweat and tears creating our music!

LUNA: The music video for ‘’Coming Up From Hell’ is so visually striking. What was the most memorable part of bringing that world to life?

TEENAGE JOANS: It was such a fun music video to make! Our biggest highlight when filming was walking down the street at night being papped by a bunch of photographers. We were really channeling our early 2000s messy rockstar TMZ dreams. Plus the nod to Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” for the theatrical rock opera bridge. It turned out so awesome.

LUNA: What’s something listeners might not immediately notice about the song that means a lot to you creatively?

TEENAGE JOANS: The guitar riffs and chord structures are super interesting - they sound simple, but there are a lot of tiny little variations in each part that actually really build the song. It’s not as simple as repeating the same four chords, the little complexities are super fun to catch if you really listen!

LUNA: When fans hear “Coming Up for Hell” live for the first time, what part are you most excited for them to experience?

TEENAGE JOANS: The start of the song, as soon as the drums hit and those huge guitars come in. We want them to feel the energy we bring straight away, it’s definitely a headbanger!

LUNA: Are there any upcoming projects or releases you’re looking forward to sharing soon?

TEENAGE JOANS: We’re working on our second album as we speak, and it’s really interesting and such a cool direction for us to head in. Definitely our best work yet. We’re so excited to share it when the time is right, and we’re so grateful to anyone who’s here for the journey.

LUNA: Do you think “Coming Up from Hell” represents a natural progression for Teenage Joans sonically, or does it feel like a bigger leap?

TEENAGE JOANS: A bit of both. Funnily enough, this song is definitely on the safer side with what’s to come. Our next record really explores a lot of new sounds for us, and I think it reflects where we’re at right now while also really opening up our sonic world for the future of the band. There’s always a bit of pressure for the second record to show what the band is really about, but I think we nailed it creatively. There’s nothing we won’t try sonically, and you’ll hear that in the next era.