INTERVIEW
INTERVIEW
☆ BY KIMBERLY KAPELA ☆
Anabel DFlux
UGLY CAN MEAN A LOT OF THINGS — It can mean breaking the patterns that have kept you stuck, getting revenge on the people who underestimated you or finally doing something you never thought you would. Sometimes it means you have to get ugly to survive. For Carla Harvey, frontwoman of heavy rock group The Violent Hour, it's about recognizing that sometimes survival requires becoming more unapologetic, dangerous and a lot less willing to play by the rules.
With The Violent Hour’s highly anticipated debut album, Pretty Girls Do Ugly Things, arriving January 22, 2027, Harvey goes back to her roots. She embraces her journey unapologetically and reconnects with the dream of her younger self while making room for every version of the woman she’s become. Across 11 tracks that fuse the grit of old-school rock n’ roll and the weight of heavy metal, the record explores survival and rebirth.
“Pretty Girls Do Ugly Things isn't just about girl power women behaving badly,” Harvey says. “It's almost the thesis for the whole record: good people can do ugly things, beautiful things can come from ugly places, and sometimes you have to get a little ugly to survive.”
For this project, Harvey wanted to return to her roots, reconnecting with the essence of her 16-year-old self and honoring the dreams she carried long before her career brought her to this moment.
“I wanted to make sure that all of her dreams were fulfilled,” Harvey tells Luna. “Every single song that she ever wanted to write was somehow represented on this album… I came from very humble beginnings. I didn't have anything growing up, and I went through a lot of grief and loss in my life. To make it to where I am today is a huge accomplishment. It really occurred to me the last couple years that I'm so lucky that I get to live in a time where a woman can continue to be whatever she wants, and she can change her mind at any time and be whoever she wants in that year, in that decade, and that's such a beautiful thing.”
Harvey hopes listeners, especially her femme audience, can take away that reinvention doesn't have to happen on anyone else's timeline.
“I wish more people would realize that, especially women, in their 30s, 40s, 50s, you can change your life at any moment, and you can dream those dreams that you had when you were young that you thought you had to give up on,” Harvey says.
The album’s spirit comes into sharp focus on The Violent Hour's latest single, “Already Dead,” an infectious alt-rock track that transmutes hitting rock bottom into power. Written around the destructive dynamics of narcissistic relationships and the desire to break their cycle, the band confronts what happens when betrayal and emotional exhaustion leave you feeling as though there's nothing left to lose. The accompanying music video starts in a morgue and follows Harvey laying on an autopsy table. The visuals feel especially fitting given Harvey's background as a former embalmer.
“I really wanted to write a testament to what else? What else do you want to throw at me? Nothing else matters anymore. I'm going to do what I want to do. I'm going to live life to the fullest, no matter what you try to take away from me,” she says. “In that moment where you're at your breaking point, you have to decide what you're going to do. Are you going to flourish? Are you going to move forward and carve your own path, or are you just going to sit back and let everyone else win?”
This new chapter for Harvey means returning to the dreams of her 16-year-old self. And with The Violent Hour, she's giving that younger self and every woman who has ever been told to make herself smaller something to turn up loud.
Anabel DFlux
LUNA: Thank you for talking to Luna. Our readers would love to get to know you and your music more. For any readers who aren’t familiar with you yet, what inspires your artistic style and sound?
CARLA: Everything I see, hear, experience, I put into my music. I was a teenager in the 90s, and we were assaulted by all different kinds of music. I also grew up in Detroit, where we had a lot of classic rock influences, like Bob Seger and Lynyrd Skynyrd. I grew up in classic rock, hair metal, but also thrash metal and the Riot Grrrl movement. I had all of it all at once. I take a lot of everything — a lot of classic rock, but also a lot of 90s alternative and Riot Grrrl’s spirit and spunk — and throw it against the wall. I just try to be authentic and lean into things that I love. I think it organically comes out very different from anything else out there.
LUNA: Your latest single, “Already Dead,” explores the moment when you've endured so much pain that someone can no longer hurt you. What inspired the song, and how did you transform that experience of hitting rock bottom into you reclaiming your power?
CARLA: I think that everyone has dealt with narcissists. I think it's a common thread. Throughout my life, I've encountered so many. I think because I am an empath, and so I just naturally am drawn to the worst people trying to fix them. I think that this song, when I was writing it, I just wanted to have a song about stopping the cycle. I've been through a lot the last couple years. I was part of a band for 15 years that was my baby and a huge part of my life. Leaving that project and not knowing what to do next, and hearing people's opinions, and everyone has an opinion on what you should do next or what you shouldn't do next, and what they think happened or the reasons behind why. I'm the only one who really knows what happened.
I really wanted to write a testament to just what else? What else do you want to throw at me? Nothing else matters anymore. I'm going to do what I want to do. I'm going to live life to the fullest, no matter what you try to take away from me. People can relate to that in many different contexts, whether it's relationships, friendships, a job, anything. I think even in society today, a lot of people are just fed up. A lot of people are at a breaking point. In that moment where you're at your breaking point, you have to decide what you're going to do. Are you going to flourish? Are you going to move forward and carve your own path, or are you just going to sit back and let everyone else win?
LUNA: “Already Dead” is accompanied by a music video. Given your background as a former embalmer, the morgue setting carries a personal connection. What inspired the video and how was your experience filming it?
CARLA: I always wanted to film in a morgue. Of course, given my background, I was an embalmer. I was a funeral director. I just always wanted to do it. I thought this video was a perfect song, especially to release it during the Halloween season. Perfect Groundhog's Day. You wake up, you've got your toe tag on, and you're like, "Ah, what happened now?" I always feel like life is a series of little deaths, and if you can get back up, sit back up on that table, and persevere, then you can do anything. That's what I've wanted to embody in the video. It's like fuck, you got me this time, but I'm up. You're not going to keep me down.
LUNA: If “Already Dead” is about realizing that the things meant to destroy you no longer have power over you, what does reclaiming your power look like in your life today?
CARLA: Reclaiming my power is not letting other people influence my choices anymore or sway me in one direction, not letting people tell me no if I've got my heart set on something. If I want to do something, I'm going to do it. Not listening to people's opinions because in today today's age, you've got a million people on the internet telling you what you should be, what you shouldn't be, if they like you or not, and you got to cut through the noise and do what you believe in, and not mold yourself after what you think people want you to be. I think that's in anything in life.
I'm getting older, and I feel like there's a power in getting older because you literally do not care anymore what other people think of you. You're not trying to fit into any space. It's like you like me or you don't. You can take me or leave me, and there's huge power in that. I'm very goal oriented and focused. I think just working, concentrating, and working towards goals instead of living in this noisy space and trying to figure out what everybody else wants for me has been really eye-opening and special to do the last couple years. I think that when you truly do what you want to do and you follow your heart, it always works out for you in the end.
LUNA: You are about to release your debut record Pretty Girls Do Ugly Things. Across these 11 tracks, you explore survival, transformation and your journey so far. What did you set out to explore with this project? What can listeners expect from you in this new era of music?
CARLA: I just really wanted to go back to my roots and the core essence of who I was as a 16 year old and make sure I was doing that girl service. I wanted to make sure that all of her dreams were fulfilled. Every single song that she ever wanted to write was somehow represented on this album. The title itself, I've used that title over the years. It's the name of my publishing company, and I've always felt it was really special and unique. When it came time to name this album, I knew that was the name that it had to have.
Women do a lot of things to survive. I came from very humble beginnings. I didn't have anything growing up, and I went through a lot of grief and loss in my life. To make it to where I am today is a huge accomplishment. It really occurred to me the last couple years that I'm so lucky that I get to live in a time where a woman can continue to be whatever she wants, and she can change her mind at any time and be whoever she wants in that year, in that decade, and that's such a beautiful thing. I wish more people would realize that, especially women, in their 30s, 40s, 50s, you can change your life at any moment, and you can dream those dreams that you had when you were young that you thought you had to give up on. We are in a yes era for women. I really wanted to bring that to light on this album.
LUNA: The album title challenges the expectations placed on women, specifically the idea that femininity and goodness must always look a certain way. What does doing something “ugly” mean to you?
CARLA: It could mean a ton of things. Everyone has had to do something to survive. It could just mean getting your hands dirty and doing a job that you never thought you would do, but you have to to survive. There's just so many different ways that people can take it, and whatever it means to you is what I want it to mean to you. I think that's the magic of writing music and coming up with powerful titles. The title track of the album “Pretty Girls Do Ugly Things” is about a woman who's been abused by someone for many years, and she finally gets her revenge on them. That's taking it very literally. However, it doesn't have to be that literal. It's just all the things that I've done in my life to survive and get by, and to create art and become art. I think some people would consider them ugly things, but to me, it's just life. Not everyone's life is perfect and pretty and soft.
LUNA: Do you have a personal favorite song on Pretty Girls Do Ugly Things — one that feels closest to your heart or most revealing of who Violent Hour is right now?
CARLA: The one song that I love the most is “The Other Side of You,” and it's a song that I never thought I would write. It's very different from anything else on the album, and it's almost got a little bit of country to it. Although to me it sounds more like Southern rock. Some people might misread it as country, but to me it's good old Southern rock. As a kid, I loved songs like "Simple Man" by Lynyrd Skynyrd, "Tuesday's Gone with the Wind." That's like my “The Other Side of You.” This song again is about overcoming narcissists and getting away from people who hold you back. I feel like women a lot of times really do themselves a disservice by staying in situations for too long instead of letting themselves breathe and come to life for themselves and be everything that they want to be. That song is coming into your own. I really want women to know that it's never too late to wake up on the other side of something that is not meant for them.
LUNA: How do you hope listeners — especially your femme audience — can connect with or find power in this new era of music from you? What emotions or messages do you want to leave with them?
CARLA: I just hope that they find power in what I've written. Everything that I write is very autobiographical, and I feel like when I was a kid and I listened to music, I felt like that person who wrote the song went through something similar to me, and if they could get through it, then I could get through it too. I hope that women can hear the songs and use them as a source of power, relate to it and find that they too can get out of the situation that they're in, and just become inspired. It's so special to me to inspire women of all ages. I see it at these Lords of Acid shows that I've been doing this this past month, there's a whole influx of young girls who really need someone to look up to and a voice, and there's so many women who, again, are 30s, 40s, 50s, who think that their lives are over because they're a certain age. I love when they know that it's not too late. You've got a whole second half of your life just waiting for you to explore, and that's so exciting. I think when you've realized that, the possibilities are endless.
LUNA: What is fueling your fire right now that’s pushing you into this new era of your career?
CARLA: Just pure hatred and rage. I think a little bit of rage always starts the cycle, but then when you realize how happy these little accomplishments make you, or how happy writing the song of your dreams makes you, then you just keep going. This year, I got a master's degree, which was something that I dreamed about doing my whole life, and I never got to when I was younger. Then I got a fellow, and then I wrote this beautiful album, and I got to do some incredible touring. It's just looking forward to the next thing, the next dream and keep going. I think if we have goals for ourselves, that truly keeps you young, active and ready for the next thing.
LUNA: How are you feeling in this current era of your career and what does the rest of the year look like that you would like to share with Luna?
CARLA: I feel super excited about the future. I get off this Lords of Acid tour on Halloween, and then I'm going to go on a cruise with the Violent Hour and play a couple sets on the cruise. We've got a tour that we're going to announce for next year that we're really excited about. That starts the day after our album comes out, so perfect timing, and just really looking forward to digging into the album cycle.
