What a good day. Georgia Maq, the frontwoman of Camp Cope and a strong, distinct voice in the punk rock world, has today released her debut, solo album. It’s 30 minutes of upbeat pop songs and it’s so good that I’ve listened to the album three times over already.
The album, titled Pleaser is a crazily different direction for Georgia Maq. “I think the main theme is love, obviously, all kinds of love. Love that you walked away from so you could love yourself, unrequited love, forgiving love, love with no point to it,” she explains.
And that sentiment is immediately clear in the opening track of the album ‘Away From Love’. Georgia Maq sings, “Walking away from love/I’m walking away from love” over and over. ‘Away From Love’ is also the only time a guitar’s featured on the album — told you it was different.
The huge pop release has this simplistic but crisp production reminiscent of the XX, paired with that dark pop sound you’d hear from Billie Eilish or Charli XCX.
“I took more time to record the songs and play around with them, and I liked that because I could change things and experiment more,” said Georgia Maq.
“I think the pressure of working with other people drove me to finish the songs, which I hated but also loved because it’s nice to be challenged.”
Maq spoke to The FADER too. “…Because Camp Cope’s so ‘Powerful woman’, and this is me being like, ‘Well, I’m so f**king brokenhearted, and I’m gonna sing a f**king pop song with a repetitive chorus about it.’ It’s a completely different direction, and it’s coming out as a surprise. When in doubt, freak ’em out, you know?”
And what a stunning job she’s done.
Have a listen to ‘Like a Shadow’ or the full release below.
