Lauren Tate from Hands Off Gretel is releasing her first solo album ‘Songs for Sad Girls’ on September 20th. The debut single ‘What about the kids’ tackles the subject of gun culture and the sadly familiar scenario of school shootings:
Tate brought a lot of media attention to an going debate about sexism in the music industry in July when she called out the behaviour of certain males at her gigs and also the dubious practices of certain promoters. Her new self produced material will have a very different sound to Hands Off Gretel while maintaining her reputation for speaking out on social and political subjects that are close to her heart. Much of it was recorded in her own home studio.
“I planned to get my album produced by someone when I could afford it, but there was a certain magic and honesty captured in my recordings that I knew would really move people. My lyrics are honest and brutal with songs about domestic abuse, body image, feminism and fear of dying. I wanted it to sound like a girl writing in her diary, unapologetic and imperfect like real girls are.”
‘What About the Kids’ is the 2nd single from the debut album and is released today, alongside a new music video directed by Lauren. ”The song is from a child’s point of view speaking to her father addressing gun violence in America. I wanted the song to highlight issues around gun control and the importance of children’s future in a world where nobody is listening to them. I wrote this song to sing for those that won’t ever get the chance to do so.”
The album is available for pre order here.
Final Hours interviewed Hands Off Gretel at this years’s Rebellion Festival. We’ll soon be publishing what they had to say.
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