Niccijade Reeves-Alhark
Editor-in-Chief
Penelope Scott was born in California in the year 2000. She is an indie, folk, and alternative singer-songwriter, but her music still has yet to be pinpointed to a singular genre by her or her fans.
Her connection with music began, according to interviews with both Billboard and For the Punks, at the young age of eight, when she began taking piano lessons. In middle school, she started to write down lyrics and throughout high school, she learned about and became interested in the technology and process of making music. This interest carried to her college decisions, where she attended music production classes. While taking these classes she posted some of her music from time to time on TikTok, a social media app.
In an interview with The Michigan Daily, Scott says her being at home because of COVID-19 and given free music software inspired her to post her homework projects, leading to some of them turning into full-fledged songs. These full-fledged songs would be put on her SoundCloud, where she went by the name Honey Morello.
The first song of Scott’s that went viral was Sweet Hibiscus Tea. Scott had posted a draft of it on TikTok in late May of 2020 and it had gained popularity fast. Another one of her drafts, Born2Run gained popularity on the app around the same time.
She debuted on Spotify as an artist with Born2Run. Scott’s debut album, titled The Junkyard 2, was released May 13th, 2020. It had 10 tracks, all played on her piano with one-layer vocals. The title track of the album was a full version of Sweet Hibiscus Tea.
In both of her current albums and singles, Scott sings about her life as a college student, woman, and young person. Her lyrics also discuss politics and things going on around the world. The same article by For the Punks states, “Penelope says that she draws her lyrics from “Big overwhelming feelings.” From her very first lyrics which were inspired by her individual thoughts, to her more recent lyrics that are brought on by big things in the world- Penelope draws from those emotions to get her personal tracks.”
My favorite album by Penelope Scott is Public Void. What I love about this particular album is the sound, throughout each song Scott uses heavy bass and unique synths to add emotion and set tones. One of the sounds she manages to make is what I can only describe as crunchy, it is like the music is scratching your brain. This feeling on top of the in-depth and clever lyrics is why I love this album so much.
My two favorite songs from Public Void are American Healthcare (Glitzy) and Feel Better.
American Healthcare is very self-explanatory, it is about the American healthcare system and its problems. Scott sings about how she wanted to help people but has realized how the healthcare system does not help the people that are sick and dying when they can be. This song is a revamped version of American Healthcare on The Junkyard 2, I really like how this time around she incorporated lots of layering and emphasis on her voice. The original piano break in the song has turned into a synthy harmony that almost sounds like a ringing telephone.
Feel Better is about Scott recently being out of a relationship with someone. It is a very angsty and emotional track, Scott ranting and reminiscing on the past relationship. What I love about this song is that she acknowledges the feelings that no one likes to talk about after a breakup, sometimes it feels like you have lost the world and nothing as good will come around. That anger and sadness one feels, and the selfishness of wanting it all back is something Scott describes so well with sounds and lyrics. She says she "doesn't wanna feel better"
Penelope Scott is one of the several upcoming artists with a new sound and is part of the new genre that is emerging out of apps like TikTok, like the hyperpop and alternative community. She is releasing a new EP this month titled Hazards, according to Spotify it will have 3 brand new tracks and revamped versions from her debut album The Junkyard 2.
Image Credit: Niccijade Reeves-Alhark
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