Lips Speak Louder Bring the Noise — and the Heart — on ‘Consolation Prize’

By Lauren Means | Photo Credit Emily Tingley

After more than a year of building buzz with fierce singles and gritty live sets, Nashville alt-rock duo Lips Speak Louder is finally unleashing their debut album, “Consolation Prize.” A potent blend of 90s grunge attitude, early 2000s indie rock energy, and raw vulnerability, the album marks a major milestone for bandmates Rachel Brandsness and Angie Lese.

We caught up with the duo ahead of the release to talk about the inspiration behind their latest single “Lose My Head,” collaborating with guitar goddess Emily Wolfe, and what it’s like fighting for space — and respect — as women in rock.

“Consolation Prize” is finally here! How does it feel to be releasing your debut album into the world?

It feels incredible! We’ve worked our butts off for over a year, and it almost seems surreal that the moment is finally here. We can’t wait for everyone to hear it!

Your new single “Lose My Head” really feels urgent and raw. What inspired the track?

The inspiration for “Lose My Head” came from how it feels reading the news at any given time. It captures the spiraling that can come with trying to make sense of an increasingly chaotic and anxiety-inducing world, and Emily Wolfe’s unhinged guitar solo in this song exactly captures that feeling of being on the brink of losing it.

How was it working with Emily Wolfe again… as a producer and guest guitarist?

If you’ve ever seen Emily live, you know how mind-blowingly good she is. It’s like watching a mad scientist go to work, so we feel hashtag blessed that she played on “Lose My Head.” As a producer, not only does she have an incredible ear and what seems like an infinite knowledge of gear, but she is so, so fun in the studio. We all got along great; she’s super down-to-earth and silly, and it made for a relaxed environment — all while she preserved our songs and helped bring out the best in them.

Y’all often pull from a lot of ’90s grunge and 2000s indie rock. Were there any specific artists or albums that shaped the sound of this record?

The main record we based our raw and energetic sound on was probably Hole’s “Celebrity Skin.” We just wanted that 90s rawness (like Nirvana or Garbage) mixed with both a more melodic indie rock sound (like The Killers or Jimmy Eat World) for some songs, and a nastier tone (like Queens of the Stone Age or the early Yeah Yeah Yeahs) for our heavier songs.

What stories or feelings were you most drawn to when writing the songs for this album?

In writing the album, we were really just trying to capture the stories and feelings of our everyday lives. Songwriting — and really any form of art — can be such a great way to process what we’re all going through in a way that is more vulnerable and raw than might be otherwise comfortable to express. We wanted to be really real with this album and talk about things like love, burnout, anger, and authenticity.

The title “Consolation Prize” feels both sharp and vulnerable. How do you personally deal with the “almosts” or “not-quites” that come with being an artist?

You have to keep moving forward. If we let every “No” or “You’re great, but…” get in our way, we would’ve quit a looooong time ago. Looking back, we’ve discovered being turned down has been a major part of our path to finding each other. You may not be able to see it at the time, but the “almosts” and the “not-quites” are going to happen and will help you land where you’re meant to be. We can’t imagine being on this journey with anyone else because we complement each other so well and love working together. At the end of the day, you gotta stay in the game because it only takes one “yes” to change everything.

Emily Wolfe has, in a way, dared people to doubt women in rock. Have you felt like you’ve had to fight harder to be taken seriously?

Unfortunately, often when we take the stage, show up for soundcheck, etc., we have to prove that we indeed belong amongst all the others in the room. This can be a tough industry, so we have a choice: either let it frustrate us and slow us down, or show up and have a great time putting on a hell of a show. There will always be doubters who, before we even play a note, have decided to underestimate us because we’re women or queer or whatever the reason is — but we work our asses off, and in the long run that is more powerful than any doubt or preconceived notions.

What’s something you’ve learned about yourselves during the process of making this album?

We’ve learned to really trust our instincts throughout the entire process. We write great songs and had great ideas for chord progressions, lyrical content, different beats, etc., so we learned to be confident with our creative choices (which came more easily with the supportive team we had in Emily producing and Shawn engineering/mixing).

What do you hope listeners take away after hearing “Consolation Prize” for the first time?

After listening to our debut record, we hope that listeners will become long-term fans, ideally, and we hope that they’ll tell at least one person about us. We’re extremely proud of how our debut turned out, so we hope people are impressed and dig the album as much as we do.

Your release show is coming up, and I know y’all have some shows lined up. If you could pick any venue, what would be your dream venue to play?

Our dream venue is definitely Red Rocks. We got to see the Yeah Yeah Yeahs there two years ago (we named our band after a line from one of their songs), and it just seems like an otherworldly experience. We’ll perform there someday!

What are three words to describe your debut album?

Raw. Massive. Fun.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

We just want to thank Sweetwater, Emily Wolfe, and everyone else involved in the making of this album. We couldn’t have asked for a more fun and rewarding experience.

Lips Speak Louder’s debut album, “Consolation Prize,” drops April 25 on all digital platforms and vinyl. For more info, music, and tour dates, visit https://linktr.ee/lipsspeaklouder.