Photos taken by Matthew Moloney (@moloneymatthew_)
Earlier this summer, I sat down with indie artist/star in the making Lia Rosenblatt, better known as Nectarine Girl, to discuss everything from her musical influences, creative processes, and life experiences that have shaped her distinct sound. From the deep impact of artists like Johanna Warren, Cherry Glazerr, and Alex G to her journey from Boston’s house show scene to the bustling music landscape of New York City, the 23-year-old shares the story of her artistic evolution. She discusses how her music has transitioned from indie-folk to a more intense, shoegaze-inspired sound; delving into her songwriting process, where layers of instrumentation and spontaneous creativity come together to form her unique tracks, Nectarine Girl has created a sound that keeps you coming back to hear more.
As she gears up for the release of her next album, Nectarine Girl reflects on her goals, the challenges of moving to a new city, and the excitement of pushing her music to new heights offering an intimate look into the mind of a musician on the rise, driven by passion and a desire to connect deeply with her listeners.
Isa: I was wondering if you wanted to go more into your biggest musical influences. Maybe within Shoegaze, beyond Shoegaze, different genres… who would you say you credit a lot of your music to?
Nectarine Girl: I think They Are Gutting a Body of Water, for sure. I’m very inspired by this one artist Johanna Warren, her lyrics are just insane. She’s always been an inspiration for me. I’m trying to think of this one big Shoegaze playlist that I made. Ringo Deathstarr, for sure. Their one song “Frisbee” changed the chemistry of my frontal lobe. Like, they’re so good. Alex G, forever. I love Alex G. I’ve been listening to him for a long time. Julie… I love Pinback a lot too. I think that’s enough but there’s probably so many more.
When did you start listening to this kind of music? When were you like, ‘Okay this is the kind of music I want to make.’ What age do you think you were?
I think since forever. I was 13 listening to Fall Out Boy and My Chemical Romance and was like ‘I need to make rock music, I love rock music.’ The music that I made leaned more towards Indie, Indie/Alternative, and sometimes even folky. I’m not sure where that came from. I do love that style of music, too, but I made the definitive decision to lock in and start doing this… so it naturally became more Shoegaze. 2021 and 2022 is when I started making music that sounded harder, I guess.
Your music is very layered. How do you make a song that sounds like it flows and is dreamy without being chaotic? How have you become better at avoiding chaotic sound?
I don’t know if I avoid chaotic sound, like I don’t consciously think about avoiding chaos. I just have ADHD. I’m always in the middle of making a guitar sound and am like ‘Oh you know what would sound great with this, another layer of guitar noise! And what would be great with this is more vocals!’ I just build stuff up and kind of hear the song in my head before it’s done, even before I start producing it. I have the song in my head and know when to stop. I don’t take anything away unless I feel like something is too much eventually. My process is more chiseling away at something that I already know exists and just trying to find the shape of it in real life, outside of my head.
How do you get to a point where you feel confident that you finished a song?
When I don’t hear another thing to add I’m like ‘Okay everything that I heard in my head is there.’ My girlfriend mixes and masters my stuff. I had to tell her today, ‘Hey, I know that you literally just mastered this and it’s done but I’ve been going back and forth about adding this harmony in the chorus and I do think I want to put it in.’ She was like, ‘Ugh, okay. Let’s do it.’ I’m just gonna send her it and she’ll master it again.
How long does it normally take you to make a song?
It really depends. In real-time, it can take anywhere from 2 weeks to 6 months…In total, I wanna say 30, 40 hours? My perception of time completely goes away when I’m working on stuff... If I’m really focused, I can finish a song in a week or a week and a half.
That’s so interesting to hear. It doesn’t sound like it’s a struggle at all for you... Like when it’s done, it’s done. So many people that I’ve spoken to before have such a hard time feeling finished with a song. It’s really interesting to hear you say, ‘Nope, I don’t need to hear anything more, add anything more…’ I love that.
Yeah. When it’s done I just gotta let it go.
What would you say are common themes or emotions that you like to explore in your music?
I am very overly pensive and overly emotional. I guess the things that I really like to write about are just things that naturally come out while I'm sitting by myself with my guitar. As stupid as that sounds. If I’m really feeling something intensely, in a moment that I decide to be with my guitar, I’ll write about it. It doesn’t feel super conscious all the time. When I start to write a song I have a purpose and a meaning and I go back and edit.
Once it becomes clear to me what I’m trying to say. I’ll write maybe a line or two or a sentence or two of just like ‘Okay I like these words with these chords and this rhythm.’ In Greek Mythology when they would talk about the muses and how they would speak through people, it really does feel like that. It doesn’t feel like I’m driving the bus when it comes to making stuff. It kinda just happens and then I try to translate and make sense of it.
Yeah, that makes perfect sense, and it's very interesting. I always love hearing how people write their lyrics. Follow-up question, then. Do you think that you start with the instrumental or lyrics? Or does it just depend?
I always start with instrumental. Always.
How come you ended up moving from Massachusetts to NYC?
Everybody just kind of comes here. This is the place to be for music. Things happen so much more quickly than they do in Boston… I played a lot of shows in Boston. I wasn’t going to college but was the age of all my college-aged peers and was doing house shows and in that community, I built up some momentum. I was supposed to have graduated college but wanted to go to this bigger pond and be a smaller fish and hopefully grow as a result of being in a bigger place.
How has the transition been for you? Has it been smooth?
Yes! At first, it was not. This is my first time not living in my childhood home. I went to college in Boston and am from Boston… so it was tough moving away from home and not existing in a place that wasn’t the bedroom that I’d lived in my whole life. It was really tough at first, but now I feel like I’ve finally hit my stride with being here.
What’s your favorite live show you’ve done?
Honestly, I played this basement venue in Boston called Monkey Palace a while ago. My favorite shows, still, even though I left Boston. The house show scene in Allston is unmatched… They had lights, they had a sound booth…it was like a real venue in a basement.
What are your goals? Where do you want to be this time next year?
I would love to have my existence orbit around music. I feel like setting very specific goals is good for when I’m working towards something specific but in general for what I want my life to look like… I guess just that. I would love to move forward and take everything that I’m doing now up a few levels. Like where I’m able to maybe sell out a venue or open for a band that’s bigger than me and go on a tour with them. I just want to feel like there’s a strong demand for my music because that motivates me to make it so much more.
Absolutely. Also in terms of music, you’re releasing an album potentially in the near future? Do you want to tell me just a bit about what’s to be expected?
Yeah, it’s definitely a lot more tense than my last record. It’s more elevated. I’ve now been outsourcing my mixes and masters instead of just doing it myself with a shitty AI program. It’s heavier. There are some heavier, distorted guitar sounds. The songs that are more reminiscent of the stuff I’ve released are more evolved… There’s 10 songs on the album and 4 that are just instrumentals. I’m really excited about it. I hope people enjoy those as much as the “song songs.”
You can catch some of Nectarine Girl's unreleased tracks and more "song songs" at our show Friday, August 30th at Baby's All Right.
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