CAITLIN STARR

Caitlin Starr is a New York City-based singer-songwriter making melodic punk that brings together the infectious hooks of pop with the raw energy of '90s grunge. Her sophomore EP Speed Saves, out now via G-Foil Records, explores the double-edged nature of speed: the adrenaline, momentum and sense of escape it can provide, alongside the exhaustion and crashes that come from trying to keep up with the world. We spoke with Caitlin about finding stillness within constant motion, balancing vulnerability with the energy of melodic punk, and shaping the different sides of Speed Saves.

The B-Side Hour: The title of your new EP, Speed Saves, plays on the ideas of "Jesus saves" and "speed kills," turning speed into something that can feel both like salvation and self-destruction. What made that the right idea to build this EP around?

Caitlin Starr: I had already written and recorded the entire EP by the time I had to come up with the title. It just came to me so naturally because I had been so focused on the energy in my life, on moving so fast. I remember thinking "Speed saves—that would be such a sick title," because that's definitely the ethos of my life, right now at least.

The B-Side Hour: While the title is rooted in the idea of constant motion, the songs themselves take the time to sit with uncomfortable emotions like uncertainty, heartbreak, and self-doubt. How did you approach balancing those two seemingly opposing impulses throughout the EP?

Caitlin Starr: For me, songs usually happen when I finally kind of stop moving for a second and start processing everything. So, they become a snapshot of that moment of stillness. I can remember that for every one of the songs, there was a moment where I was really processing a certain emotion that I had built up from all the movement. I guess that's how it happens. It comes from being honest, and that usually leads to a certain kind of vulnerability and openness that might seem a bit contradictory to the whole "speed" vibe. But it's definitely a part of what goes into it.

The B-Side Hour: The EP begins with loud, grungy tracks before gradually giving way to softer, more stripped-back moments. How did you use that change in dynamics to mirror the emotional journey of the record?

Caitlin Starr: When I had to pick which songs to record, those five really felt like a mix of vibes that were true to me when I was recording them and still are now. They captured the whole spectrum of emotions that goes into Speed Saves. I realized that you can have both forms—those fast, cunty, fun vibes and those more reflective, deep-feeling vibes—and they play into each other. There's something really cool about that.

The B-Side Hour: That contrast feels particularly striking on the latest single "Piece of Clay". It begins quietly, with piano, gradually builds into a cinematic climax of drums, bass and guitar, then falls back into silence. How did that arrangement come together, and what role does it play within the story of the EP?

Caitlin Starr: I wrote that song on the piano and had it for a while without really thinking about it. Then I showed it to a friend or two, and they pretty consistently asked, "Oh, what's that one?" so I thought, I guess this one has something to it. I first started playing it live with my band and I didn't play piano live, so I played it on the guitar. We thought it would be cool to do the drop with a grunge vibe and heavy guitars, because that's always a really cool way to express that kind of feeling. When we got into the studio, I realized I wanted both vibes: that mysterious, emo piano feeling, and I didn't want to let go of the harder part because it felt so expressive and right when you play it that way. So, I recorded the piano, we added guitars over it, Carmen came in and played bass, and we found the arrangement by balancing everything out and trying different synths and things like that. I remember when we found that moment where the drums come in, I was so stoked. I thought it was so cool.

The B-Side Hour: The EP begins with a question "Will you be my girlfriend?" and spends its runtime searching for answers, before ending with a definitive statement: "One thing's for sure, you make me hate myself." Was that emotional progression something you envisioned from the beginning, or did it naturally reveal itself as you wrote?

Caitlin Starr: I have thought about this a little bit because I was thinking about the order of the songs and the message of everything. I always knew "The Dark" was going to be last because it's slower and quieter. There was a moment when I thought, "Oh shit, this is ending on 'one thing's for sure, you make me hate myself.'" I think that's the one emotion that I felt, but the whole journey of the EP is kind of like a crash. It starts with speed, confidence and love, and then moves into honesty, vulnerability and loudness, and ends with the aftermath of the crash. But that doesn't mean the final line is the whole statement of the EP. The whole EP is the statement. I do like that it ends here, though, because honestly, I don't have the answer to Speed saves yet. I'm still going to be speeding and crashing and going back and forth. I have some answers, but not all of them, so I like that it ends that way.

The B-Side Hour: Speed saves touches on some deeply personal experiences, but they also feel widely relatable. How do you find the balance between telling your own story and leaving space for listeners to make the songs their own?

Caitlin Starr: I think that almost all the time, if you're an artist, the best way to make something relatable, or something that other people will like, is to just make art for yourself and make art that's true to you. That usually leads to people being like, "Oh my God, I totally relate to this." We sometimes think that our own experiences are just things that we're experiencing alone. When you write a song, you're like, "This is so crazy, maybe no one else would ever feel this way." And then you realize that so many people do feel that way.

The B-Side Hour: After writing the songs, you brought them into the studio with producer Chris Cubeta and the rest of the band. How did that collaborative process shape the final record?

Caitlin Starr: After writing the songs, I'd bring them to my band because we usually start by playing them live, and they develop from there. Then we go into the studio. I've been working with Chris since my first EP, and we just have a thing that works. I'll bring something in, and sometimes my band already has an arrangement, while other times we don't have one and just start trying things. For "The Dark," for example, Chris was asking, "Do you want this to be more acoustic? Or an electric guitar? What if we put a tape machine over it?" We experiment with a lot of different things and ideas. I think it's really good to find a collaborator where there's a strong balance of opinions. Chris is very opinionated and we have similar music tastes, so we go through ideas quickly and it just feels like a flow.

The B-Side Hour: You've described melodic punk as combining the emotional intensity of hardcore with infectious pop melodies. Why does that balance feel like the most honest way for you to express yourself?

Caitlin Starr: I've always been so into songs. I've always loved pop music—I was raised on that early-2000s pop, like "Bulletproof" by La Roux or Katy Perry, where they infused things in a way that was just so good and you couldn't stop listening to it. Then I got more into Radiohead and Nirvana and hardcore bands. That was a whole new kind of energy and emotion that I had never felt with music before, and I was so drawn to it. When you're there in person, you're moshing and surrounded by people, and it feels like you're healing yourself, being completely present and in your body. Even just listening to it, I feel like it totally matches my freak because it's so angsty and unapologetic. Nirvana and Radiohead were writing pop songs in a way, with that grunge element, but you hear the melody and you're like, "I need to hear that over and over again." I love that combination so much. I love the bangers and the hardcore shit, and I would love for my music to be both.

The B-Side Hour: You've balanced your solo project with performing in several punk and metal bands such as Shred Flintstone and Skorts. What have those different creative spaces taught you about the kind of artist you want to be?

Caitlin Starr: Every time I've played in a band, it's been because I love playing and I love connecting with people. I don't like playing in projects that I don't feel really connected to or where I don't feel like I can express a true part of myself.

Every time you get into that process, play a different type of music and learn someone else's music, you learn more about what you want to do with your solo stuff, too, and what you want to do in general. It's so inspiring, and it can also feel triggering in the best way. I remember having this experience so many times playing with metal or hardcore bands with guys. They would have the audacity to do certain things that, at the time, I didn't have the audacity to do—like take up space in a certain way that I hadn't before. Seeing them do it made me think, "Why am I not doing this?" Sitting in a room and not experiencing any of that would never have led me there. I had to be in those situations and show myself, step by step, that I could do those things. You get thrown into so many situations and suddenly you're like, "Wait, I'm kind of a baddie at this."

The B-Side Hour: After spending years performing with other bands, you're now inviting audiences into a world that's entirely your own. How do you envision translating the world of Speed Saves into a live experience?

Caitlin Starr: I want the live show to be a place where all the girls and goth baddies can come, or just women and people in general who don't always feel welcome at very male-dominated hardcore shows, and literally have the best time. I want them to be able to kick it with other humans, queer people and girls who feel similarly, while also expressing all their really intense emotions.

I was just at the Mannequin Pussy show, and they are so fire. They have the songs, and then you go and you're surrounded by these epic baddies who are thrashing, dancing and screaming. She has this part where she tells the audience to scream and release all their emotions and I would love to create that kind of space too—basically the space that I want to go to.

I live at a house venue and we put on these house shows. I threw my first bill a week or two ago—I always help put them on, but this was the first time I really helped put a bill together—and Crush Fund, Tetchy and Cohort were on it. They're all so sick. Crush Fund scream and are just epic baddies, and all the girls who come just go so hard. You completely lose yourself in it. I want my show to be like that.

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