Bubblegrunge is a unique subgenre of music that emerged in the mid-90s. It is characterized by a fusion of fuzzy, distorted guitar riffs, energetic drum beats, and basslines mixed with soft, sweet vocals and emotionally charged songwriting. The term is used to describe the poppier side of grunge music, which was made popular by bands like Third Eye Blind, Bush and Matchbox Twenty. Today, bubblegrunge has evolved into a distinct genre, with a new generation of artists like Beabadoobee, Mannequin Pussy, and Willa Mae, who are pushing the boundaries of the genre with their unique sounds and styles.
Willow Mae has had to go through several band changes before finally finding her footing in Nashville. As a bubblegrunge artist, she focuses on writing lyrics about her childhood in Appalachia and the challenges of being a woman in today’s society. Drawing inspiration from bands like The Breeders, Wednesday, Angel Olsen and Mazzy Star, Mae has created a beautiful, heavy, yet contemporary sound that is uniquely her own.
A few months ago in June, Mae released her second track of the year, ‘voodoo doll.’ The song features soft, eerie lyrics that leave listeners reminiscing on abusive, controlling relationships. Mae’s voice reaches out and holds listeners’ hands in comfort. A fitting title, ‘voodoo doll’ refers to being in complete submissive power of a partner. Mae employs lyrics such as “There’s violence and kissing / Is this what I’m missing?” and “Sit her down / Just to have a talk / Tell her off,” to illustrate the experience of losing one’s own voice in favor of another’s.
“It’s one of those songs that just poured out of me at the time that I wrote it,” Mae said. “It’s kind of changed over time, but it’s about feeling so intensely about somebody else, that you lose yourself.”
It was easy for the artist to finish the song in just one or two sittings since Mae had already chosen the chords and the song title.
“I knew from the start that I wanted it to be sort of dissonant and I wanted the listener to feel like they were on edge the whole time,” Mae says “because that’s kind of how I felt writing the song.”
Since the release of ‘voodoo doll,’ Mae and her band have already started working on new projects. Fans can get a sneak peek of these songs at some of their upcoming shows.
“We’re working on a ton of new songs. I only have two full band songs out that weren’t written when I was 17 years old, so I have a lot of material built up,” Mae said. “It’s just a matter of getting in the studio and releasing them.”
Diving into heavier instrumentals, Mae purchased a fuzz pedal to create a new sound for her upcoming single.
“We’re calling it ‘body’ right now because it’s about how difficult it is to have a body,” Mae said. “It’s maybe the heaviest song I’ve written in terms of instrumentation, and we kind of are slipping into this heavier sound and I love it. I think we’re gonna record it next, so I’m really excited about that.”
In both singles released this year, Mae has focused her lyrics on universal issues prominent in her life. While ‘clean’ focuses on the complications of fame and celebrity culture, ‘voodoo doll’ captures her loss of self authority in past relationships.
“I feel like sometimes my lyrics can be really specific to whatever my situation is, but I love that type of music,” Mae said. “Part of the audience I want to be writing to are young, progressive people in the South, which is a scary place to be right now. Some of my new songs reflect that a little bit more than my released ones do. I hope it means as much as it means to me that people see a progressive young artist in the South making rock music because that’s always meant a lot to me.”
It’s difficult for Mae to keep up in the music industry while juggling a job and being a full-time student, but she’s slowly and steadily working on creating her sophomore album.
“I’m hoping by the end of the summer I’ll have something out. But until then, we’re definitely going to release singles,” Mae said. “I have been teasing a couple of singles on TikTok that are going to be released within the next three months, so you can look on TikTok if you’re interested in that.”
Mae made the move to Nashville in August, partly as a way to better explore recording options. Having experienced losing control in recording processes before, the artist is taking her time to find the right people to work with on her future tracks.
“I don’t know if I’m gonna start making country songs or anything, but there’s a really cool, indie rock scene here. I think that the scene has already kind of had an impact on me,” Mae said. “I’m not necessarily changing my sound, but just taking inspiration from all these really cool artists doing the same thing.”