On the Rise
Hannah Grae

With her music compiling a time capsule of adolescence, she’s perhaps had more opportunity to reflect on her in-between years more than the average teenage girl, especially when it comes to being underestimated by society. “That sort of idea is used a lot in movies and TV shows, so I think it is a feeling that is shared. I had a really tough school experience and I was bullied quite badly by teenage girls, and I look back and just think, god, they were probably going through the exact same things as me. And I don’t blame them.”

With the isolation of being bullied, the girlhood experience of discovering oneself, and the onslaught of outside media in mind, South Wales-born Grae choosing to name her debut EP Hell Is A Teenage Girl makes perfect sense. Released earlier in 2023, the earnest yet energetic songs capture the ricochet of self-criticism, neurotic uncertainty, romantic obsession, and pressure to make the most of the supposed “times of your life” - as detailed in Grae’s song of the same name. It is, what she describes, as “such a tough time. You compare yourself so much to people.”

Grae herself entered her teens as a “theatre nerd” with a love of musicals who was raised on film soundtracks. One of her most prominent loves was Disney, and especially Hannah Montana, where Miley Cyrus’ character lived a double life as a regular schoolgirl by day, popstar by night. The scenario of the show and its titular character gave Grae the opportunity to fantasise and escape from reality.

“I loved that I had the same name as her, and the live show in the TV series, but I think a huge part of my love for Disney Channel was the music,” says Grae. “I loved getting my hairbrush and rocking out in my bedroom.” And while the storytelling aspect of the songs was something she appreciated, Hannah Montana ultimately led her to another of her songwriting inspirations. “I latched onto Taylor Swift quite a bit because she was in the Hannah Montana movie. I actually bought [her producer and songwriting partner Rob Brinkmann] a notebook that said ‘What would Taylor Swift do?’” she laughs. “I like to put myself in the head and minds of how I think these [artists] would write, just to see what it would be [like].”

Grae’s music is littered with female influences, from Swift’s songwriting sentimentalities and melodic prowess to the energy of No Doubt and a powerful vocal dexterity that, at its highest reaches, carries echoes of Paramore’s Hayley Williams and Disney alumni Demi Lovato. “Alanis Morrisette is a huge influence, just how honest she is. She’s one that I definitely sometimes sit and think, ‘What would Alanis do?’” This writing as her influences and embodying their quirks helps Grae trial what feels right in her own music, but she reflects that on Hell Is A Teenage Girl she can tell that she was playing a character even though it’s autobiographical. “I’m just not getting to the core of things, and the more I’m writing, I’m just getting more vulnerable which has reflected in my real relationships as well.

“Before I started writing [for myself], I never wrote about myself ever – I was writing about scenarios or different perspectives of different songs. I was quite a closed book and I didn’t really love to be vulnerable at all,” Grae says. “I can’t tell if my communication has become better with people because of songwriting or because I’ve experienced more and got a bit older, but they probably go hand in hand.”

Grae describes some of her upcoming music as her most “devastating” yet, even if her feelings are masked under upbeat drums or an epic guitar riff, but others songs have challenged her to strip back the arrangement to allow her vulnerability to shine. One track, unnamed, was recorded in one take with acoustic guitar and documents the experience of grief. Another, “Number Four”, talks of Grae’s relationship with her mother.

“I send my mum and dad everything I write and she’s always like ‘oh, is it about me?’. So then, one time - it was actually the last song I wrote for my [upcoming second] project – I sent it to her and she’s like ‘oh, is it about me?’ and I was like, ‘yeah’. My dad called me like, ‘what have you done? She’s crying.’

“Some of these songs are so specific to how I was feeling, I was worried that it could get too personal and that people wouldn’t relate to it, and then I’ve put my heart out on the line and people wouldn’t like it,” Grae continues. “But it doesn’t matter; it’s a section of my life from that period of time and I think that’s what I’m doing it for, and if people relate, then I’m glad to have helped them.”

Grae has a close relationship with her parents, creatives, who encouraged herself and her brother to learn an instrument. Starting out on classical piano, it wasn’t long before she switched to guitar (“I played like Phoebe Buffay from Friends”). Grae also has a strong friendship with Brinckmann, whose penchant for alternative music has influenced the pop punk drive of her own songs. Recent release “Screw Loose” is fuelled by Weezer’s slacker-toned guitar work and gleeful choruses that feel the antithesis to the outside pressure that so often weighs down our individual peace.

She credits much of their songwriting success with being able to suggest anything to Brinckmann without the fear of it being uncool. “My perspective when I first started was that I had to be cool and show cool references, and I think that’s something I would tell someone else to avoid if I could go back.”

But Grae’s music is cool, as so proven by her latest outing “It Could Have Been You”. With echoes of Bowling For Soup and Avril Lavigne, the track speaks of the demise of a relationship through a brattish angst that shows her increasing confidence as a storyteller. The precise execution and restless energy of the two singles belies Grae’s fear of losing control, something she continued to explore throughout her upcoming project. Without the familiarity of routine and the security of school, who was she in a life where the whims of her label, publicist, management means she could be flitting off in an instant?

“I don’t know what I’m gonna be doing tomorrow. Even when I was on a tour bus, I had to have my own little routine. What I’ve learned is I can lose control and have little baby routines.” Ultimately, a song called “Control Freak” didn’t make the cut, but Grae’s music has clearly hit a chord with fans due to its relatability, with fans through this summer’s festival circuit knowing every lyric to her songs - even the unreleased ones. “It made me so emotional. At Rock en Seine they gave out free hats; at the end I told everyone to throw their hats up and I was worried that they weren’t going to do it, but [they did].” Somewhere along the line, Grae stopped daydreaming singing Hannah Montana songs into her hairbrush, and became the rock star of her dreams.