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Aug 19, 2022 By Caleb Campbell Photography by Joe Perri

Today, Texas indie pop singer/songwriter Juliana Madrid has shared her debut self-titled EP, out now via Neon Gold. Since debuting earlier this year with her lead single, “Madonna,” Madrid has delivered a string of tracks teasing the record, all produced by Benjamin Ruttner of electronic duo The Knocks. Each of these tracks showed a new facet to the rising songwriter, blending together elements of indie rock, pop hooks, and bedroom folk. Now, the full EP sees Madrid offering up a promising work of striking lyrical vulnerability and universal storytelling, tracing yearning coming-of-age stories amidst magnetic pop songwriting.

Today, accompanying the EP’s release, Madrid has also shared a video for one of the record’s highlights, “Pretend,” premiering with Under the Radar.

“Pretend” opens the EP in alluring style, throwing back to the early 2010s indie rock revival with a shimmering guitar line and propulsive drum rhythms. The bright earworm melodies and insistent percussion offer an instant rush of pop adrenaline, yet they also belie a vulnerability beneath the track’s glimmering moon-lit sheen. The lyrics find Madrid in a one-night encounter, hoping that they can “play pretend” and commiserate together until the lights come on. The accompanying video, directed by Jax Anderson, captures a similar sense of isolation and longing, with Madrid at a party, caught out of step with everyone around her as they move in a blur and she sits alone.

Madrid says of the track, “This song is a really special one to me, mostly because of the way it was written. I was at home in Texas and had been trying to write something all day and was getting frustrated. Then I got a text from my producer Ben, and he had sent me this fast drum beat. Instantly I picked up my guitar and started playing this progression, and this melody with these lyrics that started to flow out. It is SO rare for me and I think a lot of musicians get that instantaneous connection and love for a song that hasn’t even been fully written yet. Ben and I were obviously stoked about it, and went back and forth completely remote until we felt solid about the song. With the lyrics, I wanted to capture that feeling of walking into a party and knowing absolutely no one but your one friend who invited you out. But you’re there, you find someone to commiserate with, and choose to actually for once have fun, even if you have to fake your way through it at the beginning.”

Check out the video and stream the Juliana Madrid EP below, out everywhere now via Neon Gold.