It seems like a contradiction coming from Becca Harvey, a singer and songwriter whose lyrics’ undisguised sentimentality and witty self-effacement have garnered quick acclaim for her project girlpuppy. But on “Permanent State,” the closing track of her debut full-length When I’m Alone, Harvey sings: “I hate writing songs.” Since the Atlanta-based project’s debut in 2020, Harvey’s applied her emotional and vocal versatility to whatever genre she sees most fit for girlpuppy to explore. First came the lo-fi guitar pop of introductory single “For You”; next, the self-described “sad girl” indie of 2021’s Swan, a collaboration with producer Marshall Vore (Phoebe Bridgers, Ada Lea) that drew praise from the likes of NPR and Nylon; “I Miss When I Smelled Like You,” girlpuppy’s foray into ‘70s-indebted arena pop, saw her team up with Doug Schadt (Maggie Rogers, Claud) on a breezily yearning break up jam. Harvey has deep gratitude for her career recording and touring—including with some of her favorite artists, The Districts and Matt Maltese. But it’s not always light work parsing through the feelings that lead to heavy-hitting songwriting. “It’s hard to relive something bad that’s happened to you, and write it in a way that sounds beautiful and clever,” Harvey admits. “You want to write about it in a way that no one’s ever heard of before.” This strive for self-betterment is at the core of When I’m Alone, a record
which centers Harvey’s dreamy vocals in intricate soundscapes, all while confronting the introspective thoughts she’s experienced in isolation.

Across the record, Harvey weaves in several cinematic allusions: a Keanu Reeves look alike pops up in “Teenage Dream,” named for the alternate title of an ‘80s movie he stars in; doppelgänger-ish love interests in “Destroyer” are “both played by Sam Rockwell / your roles are intertwined,” alluding to the 2009 space drama Moon. The Twilight influence also extends to the lyrics: the movie is about protagonist Bella’s struggle with being alone, and Harvey describes this record as her “Bella era.” Even though Hollywood references pop up—a byproduct, perhaps, of Harvey writing honestly about what she does when she’s alone—girlpuppy’s songwriting has markedly evolved to focus less on the external and more on what’s inside. “I’m used to writing about other people, and including details about other people’s lives,” explains Harvey of her previous releases. “With When I’m Alone, the theme really is my internal battles with things I’ve done, rather than reflecting and blaming everyone else.” When
you’re scrutinizing yourself in the mirror for lyrical fodder, it’s no wonder you’d come to a line like “I hate writing songs”—but it’s ultimately a ruse. Gushing about “Permanent State,” Harvey says: “I love how cinematic this song feels; the keys sound so beautiful. It’s a coming-of-age, movie-type song.” Did she hate writing it? Not a chance. “It’s my favorite song I’ve ever made,” she declares with satisfaction.