Deadbeat Girl's "Who Are You?" moves grunge into fifth gear

“Who Are You?” opens with a punch guitar line, quickly kicking into gear with a sturdy percussion line. A guitar-heavy catharsis and outcry of frustrations against impossible standards often set upon us by society and, more notably, those closest to us. The track comes off the back of a roaring SXSW performance, which saw Deadbeat Girl perform the track live to a rapt crowd.

The mind behind the Deadbeat Girl project, Val Olson, says of the song “I started the song with a little random thought I had written in my notes app, “change myself for you,” and I decided to write a song about what it feels like to be in a relationship where you feel like you need to change who you are for the person you’re with. It’s about watching your partner, as well as yourself, change into a different person."

“I think the best kinds of songs to listen to are the ones where you can just scream/belt out all of your anger and pain,” they continued.

“Who Are You?” follows Deadbeat Girl’s previous single “Everything You Wanted”, a grungy reflection on the waves of emotion and uncertainty that come from being in an unhealthy relationship. Its one of the clearest indication’s yet in their discography of their youth obsessed with the lists of Nirvana, Pearl Jam and the biggest names of the 90’s grunge movement.

2023 saw Deadbeat Girl begin to explore collaboration, as they began to work with rising production Ari Abdul. The resultant track “Make Me Cry”, an Eilish-esque dark-pop spectacular, was so well received upon its release that Ari Abdul invited Deadbeat Girul on his world tour which covered the likes of New York, London, Paris and Berlin.

“Who Are You?” is the perfect next step for an artist really trying to break through and be heard. With Olson taking a more hands-on approach to production, they've got the world in her hands, but with an artist as eclectic as Deadbeat Girl I wouldn’t put your house on what style they’ll be toying with next.