Girl Tones’ “Volcano” Is the First Spark of an Explosive Year
Sourcing empowerment from riotous energy rather than divine delicacy, Girl Tones is ready to crank up the volume. Calling in from their tour van, they offer their insights on tour life, sisterly dynamics and the experiences that shaped their latest singles.
PRESS PHOTOS COURTESY OF KATE LAMENDOLA
Although most of us have buried the angst and aches that consumed our teenage years, those feelings burn eternally within Girl Tones. Matured beyond diary scribbles or schoolyard scuffles, sisters Kenzie and Laila Crowe now channel that vivaciousness into thrashing rock music. Sharpened by pounding drums and feisty guitar riffs, themes of growing pains and slacking significant others gouge their way out of femininity’s underbelly.
Commonly compared to that of The White Stripes, the sisters’ distinct sound holds chaos and control to the same standard. In the manner of a shredder Beck track (see “E-Pro” or “Loser”), or The Raconteurs’ Broken Boy Soldiers, Girl Tones has a bite that leaves traces of grunge and twang. It can’t be discerned if that palette is tinted by their Kentucky upbringing, their rock inspirations or their willingness to fiddle with all kinds of noise.
Facing a year packed with new music and long stretches of touring, Girl Tones unleashes their agita into their latest single, “Volcano.” Unpacking the song’s origins with Pleaser, they offer a look into the dynamic of a sibling band and add their advice for newer artists chasing the glory of touring bands.
Pleaser: Is it correct that you both started out as classically trained musicians? If so, where along the way did you start to veer into the sound you’ve now landed on?
Kenzie Crowe: Yes! We were classically trained musicians, and around 16, I started getting kind of bored with it. Our dad introduced us to The White Stripes and The Raconteurs, and that is something that I fell in love with immediately. It kind of snowballed from there. We started writing our own songs. The White Stripes really opened that door for us.
I suppose no family or friends were surprised when you declared you were going to take that and turn it into a band.
In unison: Nahhhh!
Laila Crowe: Music has always been a big part of our lives, so I don’t think it was shocking news to anyone.
KC: Our family is very musical. Our dad’s a professional drummer, our mom played in a marching band. Our grandparents [were] musicians too—it’s just part of who we are.
The music you create now has this notable “bite” to it. Do you consider yourself to embody the fiery and rough-and-tumble spirit of your songs in real life, or is this more a creative energy?
KC: I think it depends on the situation. It’s a good release, I guess. Not that I necessarily believe in all that, but I am a Taurus, and so maybe there’s some of that energy. Maybe…
Being in a band with your sibling, is there ever a time when you’re bringing lyrics or ideas to the other that feels like you’re sharing something TOO crazy or vulnerable?
KC: I don’t think crazy. I think sometimes the lyrics don’t hit, or it’s kinda cringe or whatever. A good thing to add for someone starting off is to realize that not everything’s gonna work. You’re gonna write some cringe sh*t, that’s just part of it. You could try it in a song and then it doesn’t hit as good as you thought. You have to detach from the lyrics. But being siblings, we have that freedom to be like, “Hey, this sucks!” I think that’s a little harder if you’re working with a friend or something. With siblings, you can be so honest.
That honesty has definitely worked for you in your two recent singles: “Leave the City” and “Volcano.” Visiting with “Leave the City” first, that song is more endearing than your average Girl Tones track. Tell me about what it means to you.
KC: That was literally the first song we ever officially recorded with a producer. It was testing the waters on what we could do and what it could sound like. At the time, we were very, like, very punk, just yelling the whole time. So when we got into the studio, [our producer] Brad [Shultz] was like, “Oh, you can actually kinda sing?” He wanted to see how far we could take it, how “pop-y” [we could sound]. I don't want to say “pop-y,” but I don’t really know what else to call it.
LC: Focusing more on the melodic structure and making it a bit more “sing-y.” Yeah, bringing a little more pop into it.
KC: But the song is about feeling out of place in your small town. Anyone who’s grown up in one knows it’s a love-hate relationship you have with where you’re from. It’s confusing, it's conflicting, you have a lot of nostalgia there, but at the same time, you’re like, “I gotta get out of here, dude.”
PRESS PHOTOS COURTESY OF KATE LAMENDOLA
Hearing that, I’m reminded of the lyric from “Leave the City”: “Feeling things I just can’t explain/Pray for something to change.” Do you feel like something’s changed?
KC: (Laughing) Oh yeah! A lot has changed! Prayers were answered.
As for “Volcano,” this track starts off 2026 in a big way. I almost said “in an explosive way,” but I held my cheesiness! Anyways, this song turns pressure into something you can launch off of rather than crumble under.
KC: Yes, yes.
Ahead of such a big year, including a debut album…
KC: Yup, yup.
…as well as festivals and a hefty touring schedule, is pressure starting to set in at all?
KC: It has been in general, but there is pressure in any job. There’s going to be times you absolutely hate it, and times you absolutely love it. That song is about accepting pressure but making something good out of it. But it is fun to have a little bit of pressure. Originally, the song was about a tornado. We were under a tornado watch in Kentucky, hunkering down in a basement, and I started thinking about the chaos of a tornado and everything that can happen from that. The idea grew from there, and it turned into a volcano.
Other than making a pretty kick-ass song, how else do you work through everything coming at you at once—to retain the fun in what you do?
LC: A lot of it is when we actually get to play the shows. It makes it all worth it in the end. Sometimes you can kind of lose sight of that because there’s so much surrounding it that can be so stressful. It’s cathartic. You get up there, and you get to do your thing. It’s a sigh of release afterwards—we’re here, we’re doing the thing.
KC: One thing I would want to say to younger musicians is that touring life seems very glamorous and fun all the time, and it’s just not. It's just not at all. We got our van towed twice in the past two days!
LC: It comes with a lot of stress. It’s hard work, but that comes with anything.
KC: Right, it’s an honor to do for a living, of course. We love it. But I wanna say that because for me, I had this glamorous idea of what it was going to be. And then, you’re on the road, and it’s like, “I’ve had McDonald’s five days in a row…” You’re not getting to tour the whole state and see everything. You’re going to be getting places at three in the morning and going to bed.
Right, like “this isn’t what Almost Famous looked like…”
Where are you on the way to play now?
LC: We are heading to Seattle, we’re playing The Showbox. We love Seattle. We get to see the Space Needle! Maybe we’ll have time to stop at Easy Street Records.
Are you playing any of the songs from this year’s anticipated album to tease them out?
LC: You’ll just have to come to the shows to find out!
KC: Great answer.
