The new single from prolific Los Angeles based producer, alt-pop singer/songwriter and engineer Party Nails, 'Bull In A China Shop' was written during lockdown when everything was beginning to feel scary, confusing and weird.
Speaking of the new single, the artist confides, "I had so many weird dreams about basically all of the scary and hard stuff I'd ever lived through, and I would write about it. I thought this song was about someone from my past. But now I'm realising it's about me too. I wanted the production to emulate that image and overall sense of confusion, and to somehow be fun in spite of the dark subject matter."
Before she was Party Nails, Elana Carroll was a guitar-toting tween songwriter, playing any open mic she could near her hometown of Chatham, New York. Performing solo or with a band of seasoned adult players backing her up, she wailed lyrics about her family’s divorce, dreams of leaving her small town, and a then-undiagnosed anxiety disorder across biker bars and community centers, often met with tears from patrons moved by her fearless expression of raw emotion. At home she recorded herself with Garageband, instigating a love of music technology which continues to this day.
Party Nails debuted in 2015 on Neon Gold’s famed blog with “Break”, a heartbreak dance-pop single clearly inspired by classics such as 'Dancing On My Own' and 'Blue Monday'. In 2016 on Vice's Noisey blog Party Nails debuted 'No Pressure' before leaving a 360 deal and rebuilding independently.
Her first full-length 'Past Lives and Paychecks' was equal parts collaborations and self-produced, engineering and playing guitar, bass, synthesizers and programming electronics alone in her home studio. Her first US tour in 2017 ushered in a devoted fanbase, and her live performances continue to be a core facet of her artistry, being equal parts Madonna, Hayley Williams, and Sheryl Crow. In the studio, though, her muses are Robyn, Prince, SZA and Dolly Parton, to name a few.
Since 2020 Party Nails has penned a song about period pride for Kathryn Hahn’s character to sing for Loren Bouchard’s Apple animated series Central Park, wrote and produced the Le Tigre-infused 'Supernatural' for feminist rock duo Deap Vally, and continued to lend her vocals to other musicians (LŪN and Urban Heat both released music featuring Party Nails in 2022).
2023 started off with a bang with 'Like U', a collaboration with Austin-based Boy Sim that PAPER called "reminiscent of '90s and early-2000s rave music". Her second single of 2023, 'Bull In A China Shop', comes with an announcement of a west coast tour in July with San Francisco-based Gloomy June.
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