Some artists write songs like diary entries. They fill journal after journal with personal, raw emotion, and then tuck away until the moment’s right. Loviet sets those pages on fire and builds anthems out of the ashes. Blending ’90s angst with 2000s power-pop, the Toronto-born songwriter has carved out a sound that’s cathartic and hook-driven. With a knack for turning heartbreak and perseverance into stadium-sized choruses, Loviet doesn’t just invite you to sing along; she dares you to scream it back at her!
After her Riot Fest debut at the Radical Stage, Loviet met up with me for a conversation about songwriting, misogyny, and the art of stage presence.
Coop: First and foremost, your set was killer
Loviet: Thank you! Yes! You made it? Thank you so much!
Coop: The thing I instantly took to was how massive your sound is live despite being a 3-piece.
Loviet: The funny thing is, I write all the guitar parts, and I write most of the bass parts nowadays. And my drummer is really the only standing member of the band. We sort of hire people as we go, but they’re core members anyway because they do stick around.
Coop: So, do you approach your songwriting from that particular standpoint?
Loviet: At the end of the day, I’m always just thinking of what the song wants, you know what I mean? In a way, it’s toxic, because there was a period of time when I used to play with a band, and we would just get together in the jam space and jam. And you were kind of throwing ideas at each other. Being like, you do this, and I’ll do this. So nowadays, my brain’s kind of trying to take those roles, and we just work it out later.
Coop: Right, like you’ve kind of wired yourself to create like that.
Loviet: Yeah, we just work it out later as the song develops. Our latest single, “Stiffy,” is a good example of that. There are a lot of guitar parts, and we probably need another guitar when playing live, but it really gives us the opportunity to play it a little differently each time we play it.
Coop: I support that!
Loviet: Yeah, me too! I don’t think any songs have to be purist to the record each time. It’s definitely a challenge, but hearing comments like “We sound bigger live,” then we’re good! (laughs)
Coop: During the songwriting process, do you start with a melody first, or is it the lyrics that guide the way?
Loviet: I am not great with the lyrical part first. There are times I jot shit down on my voice notes or my phone. But I definitely think about the guitars first, and I think about the song as the background music first, and that draws out whatever I’m saying. I’m hearing a melody, and then all of a sudden I’m pulling from a thing that maybe wasn’t even bothering me that day. I can be like That’s it! That song is made for this! And I love that.
Coop: I imagine letting the melody dictate the direction can make it mentally easier.
Loviet: Oh, I’m a big fan of giving less f—s about trying to be clever. (laughs) And it’s more so about the poetry of a person expressing something than “Wow, cleverest hook.” I’m so over that at this point in my life. I’ve done it a lot, and I’m really happy to be back in the sort of space you are when you’re a teenager, and you’re just writing songs. You’re just like, f— it, this is how I feel today. I feel like shit.
Coop: Well, we’re all aware of how the music industry has a way about it where it makes a gimmick out of any emotion a woman feels.
Loviet: Oh my God, YES!
Coop: Of course, it’s up to me to make the conscious decision not to go in with that perception, and us dudes have a lot of work to do.
Loviet: Thank you! I do work on things, but the pressure is there. As a woman, you do get comments. I remember when I was 20, I played with a bunch of boys, and before we did the tour, they were like, “I bet you don’t even move on stage. I bet you just stand.” Like, women just stand on stage and don’t do anything? So that stuck with me forever.
Coop: Right, because men have to comment about women and stage presence, you know.
Loviet: I do move a lot, and that’s why. I think I still think about that. But that pisses me off. I only developed this very active stage presence. But it’s good. I support it. It’s just sometimes it does feel like you’re dancing for your money up there. I look back at old videos of Avril Lavigne, and she was really giving nothing. And I support that 100%. Just f—ing do what you want and that’s enough. And I love that, and I think a lot of guys do that now, too. If you’re feeling like moving, move. And if you don’t, then don’t!
Coop: Hey, rock n’ roll is about freedom!
Loviet: Exactly that! It’s rock and roll, and that’s the thing that raised me! I just like dealing with those backhanded comments and trying to f—ing fight them the whole time on stage. (laughs)
Coop: On the topic of being raised, what are some of the biggest influences for Loviet as a band?
Loviet: I feel like I go hard on artists every time I discover something really awesome. I’ve been really passionate about Wolf Alice, and there’s like the UK Circuit. I’ve been really into Fontaines DC. Over here, I’ve been really into like the Belair Lip Balms and Been Stellar.
Coop: What about growing up?
Loviet: Growing up, a big influence for me was pop-punk. And I think we all felt the same. We all had those influences, right? Like Kings of Leon, the Killers, like Jimmy World. I still draw back to that. Honestly, I just love all music, you know? I still appreciate a lot of pop music as well, but I just love it all. That’s my detriment, really. I just want to do it all.
Coop: Speaking of doing it all, is that what got you into the production side of your records?
Loviet: It was really about being pissed off enough to do it and just to try it. I think that was the thing. And also having the resources where we were making this record, mostly confined. Even though it wasn’t like COVID, we were just like, well, let’s just do this alone.
Coop: It feels like that’s getting more and more common, right?
Loviet: Yeah, let’s just make something we want to make and try it out. I’m lucky I had a lot of support to do that. The mixing engineer, Ian Docherty, is a guitarist in another band that we were friends with, July Talk. And I think he had a lot of, he helped me a lot to make those songs get to the next level. But otherwise, we recorded a lot of ourselves. We’ve used a lot of the demo takes. And I edited everything myself.
Coop: That’s a trip, though! Getting in there and making it happen without pressure.
Loviet: It’s loony enough to make you go crazy. And I do feel that now I’ve done this and experienced it, I really do throw a lot of love to people who do this all the time because it’s a lot of work.
Coop: How do you feel about this festival circuit?
Loviet: I love Riot Fest! This is the sickest. We’re in love with Chicago. We got to play Lolla in 2023, and now we’re doing Riot this year. I think Chicago is kind of like our little second mini home. We just love it here!
Coop: I appreciate that! And I appreciate Loviet at Riot Fest! It was great to meet you!
Loviet: Thank you, and thanks for coming out!
Coop: What’s next on the Loviet agenda?
Loviet: Touring and a new record! Yeah, touring and a new record. That’s the virus!
For more information on Loviet, visit loviet.com. All photography by Oscar De Leon