RUBBERBAND GIRL SHARES HER SECOND SINGLE ‘STAR IN A REASONABLY PRICED CAR’
RUBBERBAND GIRL
SHARES HER SECOND SINGLE ‘STAR IN A REASONABLY PRICED CAR’ LISTEN HERE / WATCH THE VIDEO HERE
“Brilliantly merges soul, pop, trip hop, jazz and R&B.” – Women In Pop
“Making a riotous splash onto the scene.” – Notion
“Effortlessly cool”– Noctis
Rubberband Girl’s debut single ‘South Suburban Weekend’ earned their first wave of discovery, with tastemaker attention from Notion, Women In Pop and House of Solo adding to previous positive comparisons to Susanne Sundfør and Kate Bush. There’s now much more to come from Rubberband Girl – founded and fronted by Caitlyn Scarlett – starting today with the new single ‘Star In A Reasonably Priced Car’. Listen HERE.
While ‘South Suburban Weekend’ saw Rubberband Girl cook up a summer feast of indie-pop, acid jazz and trip-hop, ‘Star In A Reasonably Priced Car’ adventurously blends a different array of genres. Possessing a diva-esque voice with bohemian charm, Caitlyn’s soulful vocal crowns a track which sits somewhere between modern bedroom pop and a ‘90s radio hit, all with an engagingly unorthodox country undercurrent. Her cynical but sharp-witted lyrics explore her experiences within the music industry – and especially the pressure to fit in with ever-changing trends and styles. But eventually the advice becomes an overwhelming “BLAH BLAH BLAH” of noise, so what else can you do but follow what you believe in?
Caitlyn says, “I wrote ‘Star In A Reasonably Priced Car’ as a country infused, ironically poppy, complaint about the highs and lows of being a modern songwriter. It’s about finding yourself becoming a vehicle for other people’s dreams and ideas, and being subject to constant critique and pressure. Despite being the creative backbone of the music industry, we writers are often undervalued and separated from our musical own identities. The title is in reference to a segment on the now cancelled show Top Gear, which was my childhood dream to appear on”.
The song’s video takes a literal interpretation of its lyrics. Caitlyn stars as a taxi driver tasked with ferrying around every type of person imaginable including girls on a hen night, sports lads, eccentric middle-class characters, a banjo player and an over-enthusiastic bedroom producer. The passengers may change, but Caitlyn remains at the wheel endlessly driving in circles. It was directed by Jack Wiles. Watch the video HERE.
Caitlyn wrote ‘Star In A Reasonably Priced Car’ with her regular collaborator and producer the Grammy, BRIT and Ivor Novello award winner Jonathan Quarmby (Mahalia, Greentea Peng, Plan B).
The first two releases showcase the scope of Rubberband Girl’s sonic fusion, eagerly mixing disparate genres and jumping through eras in a way that feels forward-thinking yet instantly familiar. Caitlyn’s lyrical versatility is also striking, moving from the excitement and naivety of youth in ‘South Suburban Weekend’ to the cynical wit born from experience in ‘Star In A Reasonably Priced Car’.
Caitlyn grew up in a small village in Berkshire: the type of place that’s beautiful and safe, but that gives ambitious young people a yearning for the excitement and adventure of the big city. She made the move to north London when she was just 17-years-old and was soon making influential connections. Little Simz was one of the first friends she made at music college and the pair would often jam together on ideas, and an early viral moment on SoundCloud was the launchpad for collaborations with Ms Banks, Rudimental and Subtronics as well as a career as a songwriter.
Yet Caitlyn wanted to do something more specific and that desire grew during lockdown. The result is Rubberband Girl, a band project unrestrained by expectations that can at various times play on influences as varied as Caroline Polachek, Mitski, Lorde, Tame Impala, Lily Allen, Stevie Nicks and Joni Mitchell.
