A Nashville-based singer/songwriter with a penchant for catchy hooks, harmonies and edgy pop rhythms, Lauren Strange cites influences from Liz Phair to Nirvana, while simultaneously utilizing the skills she cultivated as a longtime student and performer of classical music to create landscapes of sound with sweeping harmonies layered on top of walls of crunchy, distorted guitars. After being named the Grand-Prize Winner of the John Lennon International Songwriting Contest in 2010, Strange relocated from her hometown of Memphis to Nashville, TN to cut her teeth as a background singer, quickly solidifying her reputation as one of the most sought-after young vocalists in Music City.
Strange’s impressive resume includes collaborations with a wide range of artists, including Paul McCartney, Passion Pit, and Rock n’ Roll Hall of Famer Little Anthony & The Imperials. Last year she performed with artists including Richie Faulkner (Judas Priest), Nick Wheeler (All-American Rejects), Sean Fuller (Florida Georgia Line), Chet Roberts (3 Doors Down), & Josh Paul (Daughtry, Suicidal Tendencies).
In 2014, Strange released her first EP “Say Yes”, quickly followed by an international tour with Jennie Vee (Courtney Love, Eagles of Death Metal). Strange’s adeptness at songwriting and unparalleled ear for harmonies caught the attention of producer Tony Smith (SLEEPER/AGENT), who then recorded the entirety of her 2017 EP “Salt” at his home studio in East Nashville with a cast of talented musicians including Lincoln Parish of Cage the Elephant. Strange and Smith returned to the studio in 2018 to record “SHAKE,” which broached a heavier sonic territory for Strange and explored dark lyrical theme.
“The Solution,” Strange’s first full-length album (which was produced, recorded, and mixed by Tony Smith and mastered by Nick Brown (MONA), gives an honest look inside her own dealings with mental health. The album opens with the title track, “The Solution,” with “What’s it like to wake up and not wanna die?” and ends begging the question, “Can you offer a solution?” Strange speaks with a relatable voice in her track, “Easy”: “I wish I was cool; I wish I was smart. I wish I didn’t have the tendency to break my own f-ing heart.” Strange continues with brutal honesty in the bridge of the song, mocking traditional “solutions” that never seem to work, “They throw around diagnoses like they are confetti – there’s pills you could take, there’s sleep you’re not getting – have you tried going outside & drinking less coffee?”
In her music video for the title track “Solution,” which is self-described as a “home shopping network commercial on acid,” Strange is a televangelist-type salesman selling bottles of “The Solution,” which her campy commercial markets as a quick, universal fix for all problems. Strange’s character in the video is reminiscent of a cult leader exploiting the desire many people have for an end to all their personal issues. The irony, and simultaneously the punchline, is that no such solution exists.
Strange’s first album is a bright punch of guitar-heavy rock n’ roll with catchy pop rhythms and thoughtful, relatable lyrics. Lovers of heavy metal and pop music alike will sink their teeth into this unique and intricate album and find that rock isn’t dead: sometimes it comes in a strange package.
“If you were to paint Taylor Swift with whiskey barbecue sauce and throw her in a blender with Kurt Cobain’s skull and a pound of sugar, you’d have a Lauren Strange smoothie.”
– Jonathan Cate, Fancy Rhino Creative Agency
“She has a beautiful voice. I was knocked out by her songwriting…”
– Jack Douglas (Producer: John Lennon, The Who, Aerosmith)
“…Soaring vocals, powerful lyrics, and catchy, pop-driven rhythms…”
– Altsounds
“Music City’s answer to Courtney Love…”
– 102.9 The Buzz
