Covering Jeff Buckley is the kind of thing that would make artists break out in a cold sweat. PENNY did it anyway and she’s still not entirely sure how she’s pulled it off.

Her version of “Lover, You Should’ve Come Over” closes out her new EP Prom?, an adult reimagining of the American prom fantasy that draws less from glossy rom-coms than from something darker and more cinematic, somewhere between Carrie and a slightly distorted vision of celebration. Produced by Michael Lovett of Metronomy, it’s her most fully realised project to date: sleek, restless pop that turns spiralling thoughts and obsessive neuroses into melodies you’ll have stuck in your head for days.

We caught up with PENNY to talk prom night chaos, the poetry of standing outside someone’s window, and the vertigo of taking on one of the most beloved songs ever written.

You’ve said the EP is inspired more by the prom in Carrie than the glossy romcom version. But that prom ends in blood and fire, not a slow dance. Is it the chaos you’re drawn to, or the moment right before it all goes wrong?

I think it’s all of it: the build-up feels kind of intoxicating to me. But if I’m completely honest, I’ve never really thought about it in such a deep way. I think in terms of imagery, Carrie was the closest thing I could think to compare my songs to. Maybe sonically they’re a mix of blood and fire and all the feelings that high school prom might make you feel when you’re a bit of an outcast with a lot of emotions.

You make neuroses danceable the kind of intrusive thoughts most people try to silence become hooks in your songs. Does putting an obsession into a pop song loosen its grip on you, or does it just make it catchier in your head?

I think maybe a bit of both. When I was writing the EP I definitely enjoyed romanticising obsession. My song “Shadow Dancing” is literally all about the idea of standing outside your crush’s window to see if there’s someone else up there with them (please don’t actually do this!), which I just thought was such a poetic image. The window with the curtains closed, maybe the window is even open a tiny bit and the curtain is blowing in the breeze; the lamp switched on, the shadows moving, it’s so beautiful in my mind but also so dark and sad. If I can get a catchy hook out of a dark, obsessive thought then that’s just a bonus.

Covering “Lover, You Should’ve Come Over” is a bold move. you’ve described it as almost reckless. What made you want to take it on despite how intimidating it must have been, and how did you approach making it your own without losing what makes the original so devastating?

Yes! I’m still not sure whether I was a fool to cover this song. I know it holds a lot of space in a lot of people’s lives, and it does for me too. I mean, I will never know how Jeff Buckley felt when he made this song, but when I heard it for the first time I was feeling pretty devastated within my life, and every time I’ve heard it since. it just takes me back to that place. It’s definitely a cathartic experience, singing this song.

PENNY feels like both you and a character at once. How much of what we hear is performance, and how much is just you with the volume turned up?

I think I find it quite hard to differentiate between myself and PENNY. So I feel like I have to say it’s just me with the volume turned up, haha oops! I would love to eventually feel like PENNY is my musical character, but I’m too intertwined and attached to my songs to feel that way yet. Maybe one day…

PENNY’s EP Prom? also features recent singles “Dirty”, “Shadow Dancing” and “So Good Inside”—the latter recently featured in the Netflix series Les Lionnes. This summer she joins the line-up at Pete the Monkey Festival on July 12, followed by a sold-out collaborative show with Michael Lovett at 160DL Studios in Hackney on July 14.

Prom? is out now. Watch the premiere of “Lover, You Should’ve Come Over” below.

Listen to Prom? here.

Follow PENNY: Instagram / YouTube