Photo by Rebecca Need-Menear
Lauran Hibberd has been turning heads since her inception into music. With her thought-provoking lyrics, the Isle of Wight singer talks of themes that are relatable in a way that's fun and playful. After dabbling into folk punk, it wasn't until she heard Weezer for the first time that her entire perspective on music changed. Since then, she's earned critical acclaim for her "slacker pop" sound, DIY feels, and messages that'll resonate with anyone who is trying to exist in a society that tries to bring them down. Hibberd's new EP, Goober, signifies the growth that the 24-year-old has made throughout her musical career and takes a dive into a more personal, albeit therapeutic journey for her.
We were fortunate to connect with Hibberd to discuss her upbringing, musical styles and influences, her creative process, and her new EP, Goober, which comes out today! Check it out:
How did you get started in music?
I think I was just scrambling around to find something I was good at early doors as I knew I didn’t want a normal job or anything to do with what I was already doing at school. I had a couple of guitar lessons and immediately became obsessed, mainly with what that allowed me to do, writing-wise. I learned every song that was popular eight years ago and started creating my own folk tunes on an acoustic. It was only when I met producer Boe Weaver who introduced me to the Weezer Blue album that my head spun and I became a hybrid of myself and a Rivers stan ever since.
Your new EP, Goober, is out today! How was the process in putting that together?
Yes! It was great, it was refreshing in a way to have so much time to focus on it. I guess with Coronavirus, it kinda allowed me to sit at home and hone in on every single detail of this project, and there definitely has been some benefits to having that time. I think this EP is a good example of how you can stretch your influences and push further into different worlds. It’s my last baby step before the debut album and I feel really lucky to have worked with Suzy Shinn on this as well–she’s so awesome at making me look at every song differently and never just settling on a part or a lyric. So I think you can hopefully gauge how deep into this EP we all sank.
Goober
How does Goober compare to your previous work, such as Everything is Dogs from 2019?
Everything is Dogs was great because it kinda came about as a happy accident, and that is its charm, for sure. Goober is much more thought about, though, and I think the songs are just ‘”better”– more energetic, more intellectual, and as I’m growing as an artist, I think that the confidence in these tracks speak for themselves. There’s still that carefree slackerness that existed in Everything is Dogs, but I believe it is just captured more progressively.
Your single that was released leading up to Goober, “Bleugh,” has a mix of different elements. From spoken word, to a grunge-pop sound, to a message that talks about toxicity. There’s a lot of different things happening in it. Can you talk about the creative process in putting this song together and how you came to the decision to include all of these different elements?
I wanted this track to scare the shit out of people, and no one be able to put a pin on it in terms of what it is, genre-wise. It’s a throw-everything-you-have-at-the-wall song. In terms of pent up anger that is obviously there lyrically, there’s loads of musical contrasts and a stack of different influences. I originally sang those spoken word bits–it was Suzy who suggested I shout them and we immediately felt like we’d stumbled on a winner with that touch. It’s one of my favourite songs on the EP and kind of flies the flag for the kind of artist I want to be.
You also recorded, “How Am I Still Alive?” featuring Lydia Night from The Regrettes. I’ve read that the idea came after watching Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, as you wanted to write a song about Michael Cera. Can you expand on how this song came about and its message in dealing with the difficulties of everyday life?
Yes! I was just watching stacks of films in lockdown and kind of hitting a wall with boredom. And after obsessing over Sex Bob-Omb in Scott Pilgrim, I started thinking about what it would be like if I met Micheal Cera and if it actually would ruin it for me. The song is kind of about your imagination being better than reality and that ‘Pinch me, I’m happy that I never got it’ pretty much sums up that whole ideal. It was so great to have Lydia feature. She’s just plain awesome and I was happy when she said she loved the track and wanted to do it.
With the release of Goober, what do you hope listeners take away from it?
I hope people like it for a start. Haha! I kind of wanted to ride a mood swing with it and have people dance to it, relate to it, get their dogs to bark at it, go to the gym with it, and then cry on the way home in the car with it. Just a basic soundtrack to a day in my life, really (minus the gym). I think most of these tracks can be interpreted very differently so I just really hope there’s a connect there and people feel how I feel and I’m not plain crazy.
Is there anything else you’d like people to know about you?
I’m a huge fan of Lost, I love my dog, I want to marry Rivers Cuomo, I hate the sun, I have IBS and my dad spelt my name wrong on the birth certificate.
Follow Lauran Hibberd on Instagram at @lauranhibberd, @lauranhibberd on Twitter, and Lauran Hibberd on Facebook. You can purchase “Goober” here.
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