Last Wednesday, AfterHours was hit with two stunning performances from Mei Semones, a jazz-influenced Green Line Records artist, and Kate Bollinger, indie pop singer-songwriter with a captivating voice. The L.A.-based Virginia native's latest EP 

 dropped a year ago. Kate's currently working on her music and touring, most recently with renowned indie duo Tennis. Onstage, Kate performed solo, holding our attention with only a mic and a guitar. WRBB’s Bela Omoeva managed to nab a quick interview with her before the show!


This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.

Bela Omoeva: So I guess I’m just gonna start out simple — have you ever been to Boston before?

Kate Bollinger: No, I'd never been to Boston.

You’re originally from Virginia, right?

Yeah, I lived there for two years. I just moved from there.


So I know you studied art with a concentration in film at UVA, and just going back and watching some of your videos, like “

,” for example, with the whole storyline and stuff — did you have a hand in the creative direction of that?

Yeah, definitely. I mean, not as much for “Who Am I But Someone,” because for that video, I found a director [Allyson Yarrow Pierce] who was very specific in her style, and I knew that if I got her to direct it that I wouldn't be able to be as involved, which was fine with me because I loved everything that I'd seen that she'd done. But that was kind of a rare situation. Usually, I like to be really involved. The “Yards” video just kind of began with an idea that I had, and then I was just bouncing it around with two of my friends, and I just kind of came up with the whole thing.

Where does your specific taste in aesthetics come from?

Oh, that's so hard to answer. I think it's just kind of all a big combination of everything that I like. I just like a ton of different music. I grew up listening to a ton of pop music, but then my older brothers would also show me the music that they were into. So I feel like I kind of built up a pretty varying music taste, I guess. And it's the same, I think, with visual taste. But recently I've been into a lot of like, ‘60s imagery.

What was it like touring Europe in January?

It was, I think, four shows in the U.K. and then three shows in Europe and it was solo. So fun. It was just, like, really exciting. And I had never been to any of the places that I went. So that's really fun. All the crowds were super nice.

Yeah, definitely. I mean, I'm so grateful to be doing it, but it is like any job, I think, in that way. It can just be sort of tiring and it can be stressful, and you're with, like, if you're not touring solo like I was, it can be five weeks in a band with the same people, so it can get stressful. But it's also exciting.

What was it like working with the team that you put together? How did that come about?

So my drummer Jacob [Grissom] is one of my best friends from high school, and then he introduced me to Chris [Lewis], who plays guitar, when I decided that I was going to put a band together. And so, Chris and Jacob were two of the original members of the band. And since then, I've kind of just pieced things together. The guy that I had playing bass, Noah [Luna], has joined us for a couple tours. He was roommates with Jacob in Nashville. So it's all kind of, I don't know, a lot of it has been through word of mouth and friends of friends, which I like. But now that I'm out in L.A., there's so many good session players, too. So I had this bassist Erica [Shafer] play on a tour a couple two years ago, and she's great. So, all different kinds of ways.

What's the role of location in your songwriting, if any?

I think a lot of the songs I've been writing are about not really having roots at the moment. Like, I've just kind of been all over the place, which is great, and I love doing that. But also, you know, it's weird not having a home base for a while.

” single — which is really good, by the way — and I kind of noticed this difference from some of your older stuff, where before, your voice would be like, in the mix of the wall of sound, whereas on “Running,” it was almost, like, just your voice and the sort of sparkling production that came in later on. Was there any specific reasoning or direction that your thoughts were going in for that?

Yeah, definitely. I think that's sort of the direction that I want to head in and that's sort of how I've wanted things to sound for a while. I feel like I've finally learned to communicate what I want. So I'll definitely be making more stuff with that production style in the future. Sam Evian recorded that and we have plans to record again soon. But yeah, it's nice to record something sort of in the way that you wrote it. Like, I feel like when you work with the producer and other players, the song can sort of get lost in translation the more people you involve.

Were there any specific influences that you thought of? I heard a little bit of Angel Olsen, but I don't want to put words in your mouth.

Angel Olsen’s amazing, I love her music. For “Running,” I'm trying to remember what I was listening to, because it's been a long time, actually, since we recorded it. But, um, I grew up listening to a ton of Feist. Specifically on her first two albums, 

, they're both like — she has a lot of songs that are very sparse, you know, it's just her voice at the forefront. And I love hearing a strong voice in a song. So that's definitely a big influence.

What's it like touring with older acts like Tennis or sharing space, which is, you know, already stressful enough on your own. Does that make it any easier or harder?

It's funny, before I ever toured, I assumed that the bands would be, like, hanging out all the time and doing everything together. And it can be that way. But a few of the tours that I’ve gone on recently have been very separate, and COVID has had something to do with that, and people not wanting to get sick on the road and stuff. With a few of the bands that we toured with recently, we really only saw them, like, briefly at the venue and then we wouldn't really see them. With Tennis, we went out with them two times, but other than that, you know, we wouldn't see them a ton. Maybe that has to do with the fact that they are a little bit older, and they've been touring for a long time. They're not wanting to, like, party with us every day, not that we're doing that! But, like, I think maybe with a younger band, we would be in closer quarters or something.


Do you have any plans to release a full album anytime soon?

Definitely, yeah. I am focusing now on — I've been writing an album and I have plans to go to upstate New York to record with Sam again. We're going to record. I've been, basically over the past two years, I’ve been trying to figure out who I want to produce the album and I feel like it's been really, like, I've been so slow to figure out what I want. But I think I finally know the exact sound that I want to go for. But yeah, I'm definitely going to release an album. And then, I mean, I could see myself releasing an EP in the future too. But I think for now at least, I'm focused more on albums.

So I think that's pretty much it. I guess if there's anything else that you wanted to say, that would be cool. I'm in the habit of, when I interview people, I'm like, “Oh, do you have any questions for me?” Which is, you know, not always fitting, just a habit.

No, I actually was thinking before you came, I was, like, thinking about what I want interviewers to ask me. And I was thinking about my favorite interviews with bands or artists that I like, and I feel like the best ones are the ones where they talk about the music that they like rather than their own music.

Yeah, maybe! But anyway, what kind of music do you like?


I gotta think... I’ve been listening to “The Most Beautiful Girl in the Room” by Flight of the Conchords, that's cool, and “Enjoy” by Bjork, from her 

 album. But yeah, it's crazy that you mentioned Feist because I love her. I love “Inside and Out” and “Mushaboom” especially from 

I think she did, like, her masterwork on that. Yeah, and it's cool because I went to one of her concerts in D.C. —

And she did this completely new twist on the songs she was performing. I mean, I just love when that happens, when someone plays and you just hear the music differently afterward, even though it's the exact same recording.

Yeah. Exactly. That was such a good show. I was, like, crying for so much of it.

Q&A with Kate Bollinger, indie darling and WRBB’s Spring Fling headliner

British alt-pop artist PinkPantheress brings drill rapper Ice Spice onto this remix of her single “Boy’s a liar.” These newly-certified zoomer stars have been on a hot streak the past few months – after hitting it big in 2021, PinkPantheress released several singles and her EP 

The track shimmers with bubblegum synths and PinkPantheress’s relaxed vocals, but where the original is almost weightless (in a good way!), Ice Spice punches it up with her verse. The rookie rapper is both catchy and funny, and it shows even in a genre outside of her comfort zone. “Boy’s a liar Pt. 2” is addictive – at first, I just listened to it once and went on with my life, but next thing I know, I’ve listened to it 30 times in three days and watched the 

 too. (PinkPantheress songs tend to be like that.) This song is a hit!!!

“Boy’s a liar Pt. 2” is the collab of the year

Kid Renaissance, $cary Jerry, Aristotle Jones, and The 805

In the back room of a restaurant between TD Garden and South Station, Noise Complaint Productions held its third show on March 31st. A student-led, D.I.Y. enterprise, Noise Complaint 

 for local student musicians, usually held at the upscale eatery City Winery. As young people milled about, networked, and drank ice water, the three artists booked for the night prepared their sets, and the show began around 8:15 p.m. The ones set to perform that night were Kid Renaissance, playing mostly R&B, $cary Jerry, a rapper with nigh-epileptic energy, and Aristotle Jones & The 805, performing rap with a serving of heavy guitar and ‘70s influence. The artists performed with their bands in tow — or, in the case of $cary Jerry, with hypemen. Kid Renaissance did eight songs, $cary Jerry did five, and Aristotle Jones did seven.

City Winery’s equipment left something to be desired. This isn’t out of the ordinary for small-scale music shows — Northeastern’s own AfterHours venue is known to have sound quality issues. While Kid Renaissance’s singing was largely unobstructed, $cary Jerry’s and Aristotle Jones’ rapping was often near-inaudible. Despite the mic issues, the backing bands could generally be heard fine.

The Noise Complaint show was the kind of show you’d find yourself at through a friend of a friend. It’s not quite the kind of the thing one would want to go to alone or as a total stranger to the scene, but that also lent it an intimate, house-party-ish quality, and despite the technical hiccups onstage, the performers had some charm and evident passion. During the second half of Aristotle Jones’ “Wasted,” the song slowed down and warped as Jones mock-drunkenly stumbled around the stage. The guitarists of the night, for Kid Renaissance and Aristotle Jones, were something like virtuosos, or, as my roommate put it, they “made love” to their instruments. One moment from the production was particularly memorable. During Kid Renaissance’s light and energetic last song, the band engaged in a brief jam session — a cute, jazz-like moment of synergy. Covers were performed, too, including a few of artist Karson’s songs and one of Mac Miller’s. The night ended with more people in the room than when the show started.

Noise Complaint Productions’ third show was energetic and scrappy

London-born musician Nilüfer Yanya has long been the kind of artist who those in the know rave about. Yanya started off with singles “Small Crimes” and “Keep on Calling” in 2016, had an incredible 2017 run with the indie pop song “Baby Luv” and the 

 EP, and released the track “Thanks 4 Nothing” in 2018. These previously released songs, “Golden Cage” and “Baby Luv” in particular, shared a distinct self-assurance. Yanya’s music videos, directed by Molly Daniel, were vibrant but moody, with a film-grain sensibility. Gray London buildings and grassy beaches paired well with Yanya’s impassive gaze. As strong as the artist’s singles and EPs are, Yanya seems to be less comfortable with the longer format of an album. Her first album, 

, featured fanciful interludes from a dystopian healthcare organization, and padded its tracklist with weaker songs like “Monsters Under the Bed.” But trim the fat from 

, and one would have found Yanya as strong as ever in “Heavyweight Champion of the Year” and “Heat Rises,” with terrific videos to boot. The 

 EP (2020) had the great “Same Damn Luck.” Now, Yanya returns with her second album, 

, which seems set to continue her status as a critical darling.

The song “stabilise” is the lead single from this album, and pursues a frenetic, rhythmic sound with the echoing, layered vocals typical of Yanya. The accompanying video that depicts her walking among apartment buildings and donning sunglasses is similar to the lo-fi video for “Golden Cage” several years ago, except in HD. 

continues the habit of Yanya’s albums being growers, compared to the immediate pleasures of her one-off singles, and this time around, she’s done away with interludes. The opener “the dealer” is strong and easy to hum along to, and introduces light, fast guitar instrumentals as a central element of 

. With their easy, thrumming pace, the stars of the album are “chase me,” “midnight sun,” and “try.” While this change in instrumental style brings a new speed and wavelength to Yanya’s songwriting, it also tends to muffle the open, airy sound found in her previous work. Yanya’s voice can carry a track on its own, but 

doesn’t quite give it the same chance to rise and expand as before, with seemingly more focus given to the lyrics themselves. The album’s cohesiveness is a strength and a weakness; on one hand, it shows the specificity of its vision, and on the other, it feels almost as if a briefer format like an EP would have suited this new sound better. 

, but it’s clear more time is needed for Yanya’s flourishing talent to take center stage.

Nilüfer Yanya’s second album "PAINLESS" hides its charms

Synths, light percussion, guitars, and horn instruments halfway fill the space, but air is at the heart of 

. As Welsh musician Cate Le Bon’s voice intones abstract lyrics, the songs melt together. With its insular focus on a specific mood, 

 feels like an EP disguised as a full-length album. The cover art for Le Bon’s sixth album features herself dressed as a nun, staring out blankly into the distance. The expression makes it easy to conceive of the nun as the character of the album – the lone planet around which the world of 

The lead single “Running Away” is by far the standout; it’s the sixth track out of nine, and feels like the culmination of the whole project. “I’m not cold by nature,” Le Bon sings. “This could bring me to my knees…” The music video features multiple analog TVs, each with a different, bifurcated image of Le Bon: walking barefoot, her hands in her lap, and in chainmail, while the artist herself drifts under purple projections of light. Other songs, like “Moderation,” echo the vulnerability, stoicism, and longing of her persona. In the video for that song, too, Le Bon dons different costumes and plays with images, masks, and materials. The props’ effect is slightly artificial, but suit a character whose songs lean towards self-consciousness and drama like the lyric “I was born guilty as sin” on “Cry Me Old Trouble.”

Still, even as the atmospheric sound works in tandem with the imagery, there’s some songs that are lesser than others. “Remembering Me” leans repetitive in its lyrics, and the almost-yelping chorus distracts from the smooth instrumentals. “Dirt on the Bed” sways to the other direction, being just a bit too slow and droning; and “French Boys” has terrific production (the diffusion at 3:37 is just right) but the hook lyric – “French boys are making me wait” – is neither strange or poetic.

 is better approached as a whole than a collection of tracks. It’s so cohesive and single-target in its fixations that it could be too narrow and sparse for some listeners. For those who dig Le Bon’s sonic world, this is a perfect work to sink into and let expand.