Buzzy Atlanta-based duo Lowertown (best friends Olivia Osby and Avsha Weinberg) have announced their highly-anticipated debut album I Love To Lie - out October 21 on Dirty Hit - alongside their brand new single “Bucktooth” – PRESS HERE to stream, and HERE to watch the accompanying video filmed at a carnival in their home state and directed by Zev Magasis (Gucci, Alex G, Supreme). PRESS HERE to pre-save the album.
“When we were in London recording the album, I was pretty homesick for America so I was listening to a lot of old country and folk music,” said Olivia. “I was really into Johnny Cash’s At Folsom Prison album and wanted to write a cheeky, narrative song similar to ‘Cocaine Blues.’ A bucktooth cowboy with his crew of troublemaker bandits kept popping into my head. The song started as a silly story but ended up being thematically tied with some of the far-right extremism that was happening in America during the time Avsha and I were recording the project.”
Expanding on the video, Avsha said “This song was an homage to our upbringing in the south, and we wanted to feel like the video saw, observed, and understood life where we grew up.”
After meeting in math class, Olivia and Avsha bonded over a mutual love of jazz. Classical pianist Avsha, a first-generation Israeli immigrant, had conservatory aspirations while Olivia spent her formative years writing poetry. They signed with Dirty Hit before graduation and for the pair of highschoolers, the band’s initial success was unprecedented. Their debut album, I Love To Lie, is their most varied artistic output yet. Recorded with Catherine Marks (Foals, St. Vincent, Manchester Orchestra, Wolf Alice and more) in London, it’s a collection of work that highlights the duo’s knack for violently provocative underdog anthems of youthful dissonance and disappointment, the melding of nostalgia and nouveau, and clashing homages to early emo and pop-punk politicism. While they once insisted on non-traditional song structure - forever fearing an inane return from verse to chorus - they’ve since “reeled it in,” favouring coherence over chaos, and almost every Lowertown offering is anchored by a near-naked guitar progression, as emotionally evocative as Olivia’s soul-baring lyrics.
The lo-fi duo has amassed a cult-like following with their moody aesthetics, vulnerable lyrics, and their grungy soundscapes. Their critically acclaimed EP, The Gaping Mouth, (the follow up to 2020’s Honeycomb, Bedbug) was deemed one of Pitchfork’s “6 Albums You Should Listen To Now” and the title track “The Gaping Mouth” landed a coveted spot on the weekly “Pitchfork Selects” playlist. They’ve garnered millions of organic streams on Spotify, and their music has earned them coverage in The Guardian, Pitchfork, Alternative Press, FADER, NME, DIY, Dork, Far Out, Under the Radar, Notion, plays on BBC Radio 1, and more. Olivia was also recently named one of V Magazine’s “V Girls,” and this past spring, Lowertown wrapped tours with Wet Leg and Porches and were a big hit at SXSW where they played the Gorilla vs. Bear, Paste and Neon Gold showcases. This fall, they’re tour with labelmate beabadoobee – full routing can be found below.