“Lil Lotus is rewriting the emo playbook and there are no rules” – Alternative Press
Lil Lotus Announces Sophomore Album
Out December 1st Via Epitaph Records
Today, shapeshifting songwriter and musician Lil Lotus officially announces his sophomore album ‘Nosebleeder’ due for release on December 1st via Epitaph Records. Produced by Matt Malpass (Blink 182, Travis Barker, MGK, nothing, nowhere.) and Mike Pepe (Taking Back Sunday, Charlotte Sands), the follow up to his debut record ERRØR BØY (2021, Epitaph) finds Lotus fully embracing his role as a pioneer of a new generation of pop-punk.
In celebration of the announcement, Lotus also shares the album’s title track whose crooning pop-punk melodies with backing vocal screams are balanced by energetic guitars and a bouncy drum pattern.
“”Nosebleeder” symbolizes just being drained when it comes to life and everything that comes with it. Sometimes it can be the people that you’re surrounded by, sometimes it can just be completely internal; you could be completely alone and still have this draining experience with life,” Lotus explains. “I feel like in my experience, it’s had a lot to do with me not necessarily being very good to myself or putting myself in good situations. Now that I’m getting older, I’m slowly starting to figure out how to fix this.”
Check out the song’s unsettling visualizer below:
‘Nosebleeder’
With emotionally aware song writing that touches on themes of addiction, mental health, and self-discovery, Lil Lotus has become known for blending diaristic lyrics, pop-punk melodies, and trap production throughout his genre-defying music career. Aiming to knock down categorical boundaries to incorporate everything from sentimental acoustic songs to big-screen pop production, the arrival of ERRØR BØY marked a new era for the artist. “Packed to the rafters with pop-punk gems” according to Kerrang!, the album “dials up the emo and blends the genre’s rawer elements with the emo-pop sensibilities of artists like YUNGBLUD“.
Linking up with featured collaborators across the sphere of alternative music, Nosebleeder boasts appearances from the likes of Mod Sun, Sophie Powers, Alexis Munroe and kennedyxoxo. Earlier this summer, Lotus teamed up with Powers for the playful superhero inspired music video for “When Life Gives You Lemons”, praised for its “punchy guitar parts, raucous rhythm, and character-driven lyrics” via a premiere with Alternative Press. Pairing innovative production and a feature from rapper kennedyxoxo, recent single “Millionaire” was hailed “a glitchy, pop-soaked tune bathed in guitars and sprinkled with synths” by idobi.
Now more than ever, Lil Lotus is leaning into the alternative influences that have always informed his sound. After emerging in 2017 with his Body Bag EP with collaborations from GothBoiClique members Cold Hart and Nedarb, the creative has released multiple EPs (including 2020’s All My Little Scars 3-EP series) and over a dozen singles. Since the release of his debut record in 2021, his streaming footprint has grown immensely with current numbers of over 1.2 million per month and more than 82.9 million catalog streams to date. Possessing a distinct vocal style and unconventional ear, Lotus has been recognized by the likes of Lyrical Lemonade, Kerrang, BrooklynVegan, Alternative Press, Apple Radio 1 with Travis Mills and more.
Nosebleeder Tracklisting
- blame me for everything ft. Mod Sun
- how’s it feel to feel nothing
- nosebleeder
- stockholm syndrome ft. sace6
- what a time to be alive ft. Luke holland
- ghost ft. alexis munroe
- missouri
- millionaire ft. kennedyxoxo
- she’s a vampire
- halley’s comet
- play dead
- everything you hate about me
- when life gives you lemons ft. sophie powers
- shooting star
For more information on Lil Lotus:
Bringing together the intensity of post-hardcore with the immediacy of trap, rapper/producer/songwriter Lil Lotus is often looked to as one of the guiding voices in emo rap. His music pushed past categorical boundaries as he went on, incorporating everything from sentimental acoustic songs to big-screen pop production on his 2021 full-length studio debut, Errør Bøy.
Lil Lotus was born John “Elias” Villagran in 1994. He grew up in an area just east of downtown Dallas, raised by strict and religious parents. At once sporty and rebellious, he soon developed tastes that were steeped in metal, finding kindred spirits at a local church with whom he started to make music. Metalcore and Christian metal were high on the agenda, the latter of which was accepted by his parents for its sentiment, if not the heaviness. Then, in 2011, when Villagran was just 17 years old, his father passed away — the man who had given him his first guitar lessons — leading an already impulsive and defiant teenager to go out on the road and live in his car for two years. When he returned, he eschewed his previous routine of collaborating with metal bands and decided to start writing and recording his own confessional material using minimal equipment.
After moving to L.A., Villagran hooked up with like-minded musicians such as the GothBoiClique collective and Canadian-born artist Nedarb, who produced the material that became the Bodybag EP. When the release took off, he began a period of eventful live appearances but a relatively fallow period for official Lil Lotus releases. Although he was prolifically uploading material onto free streaming services, the next official single with upfront marketing behind it was June 2018’s mournful “Leave Me.” By November of that year, he was completely drug and alcohol free, leading to a productive month for singles: two collaborative efforts and the acoustic-driven “Over It,” the latter being another Nedarb production.
By 2019, Lil Lotus was back to living a comparatively quiet life in Dallas, but the following year brought a glut of releases, making it his most high-profile period to date. In an eight-month stretch, not only did he issue three EPs and two singles but also 2016-2018, a compilation of no fewer than 45 self-recorded tracks from his archives. At this point, Lil Lotus was working on solo music as well as material with post-hardcore band If I Die First and Boyfriendz, a collaborative rap group with peers Lil Aaron and Smrtdeath. He stayed busy with these numerous projects, but he found time to issue a trio of EPs in 2020, All My Little Scars, Vol. 1, 2, and 3. New singles soon followed, leading up to the arrival of Lil Lotus’ first full-length studio album, Errør Bøy, in August 2021. Released through Epitaph , the set included guest appearances from Lil Aaron , Travis Barker , and Chrissy Costanza. ~ James Wilkinson, Rovi
