25-year-old Maggie Lindemann has quickly become one of the most exciting stars in the pop-punk genre.

With a knack for nostalgia-inducing songwriting & an undeniably phenomenal voice, she’s come a long way since her 2016 breakout moment, the viral classic “Pretty Girl.” Making a seamless transition from pop to a more rock-influenced sound, Lindemann continues to prove that there are no limits to what she can achieve musically. 2022 saw the release of Maggie Lindemann’s debut album, SUCKERPUNCH, which has since amassed over 200 million streams. Lindemann is also a self-starter in every sense, constantly expanding her clothing brand SWIXXZ, and exploring more opportunities to build community.

Maggie Lindemann’s latest project is an eight-track EP, HEADSPLIT, which was released on March 8th. All of the lyrics, aside from the artist features, were completely written by Lindemann herself. Taking on a more Evanescence-esque sound with haunting vocals and heavy guitar lines, HEADSPLIT is Lindemann’s most impressive and authentic work yet. The project’s artist features include Siiickbrain, Alexis Munroe, and Jasiah, all artists that fit into the sonic space of the EP perfectly. 

Just ahead of the release, 1883 Magazine sat down with Maggie Lindemann to chat about HEADSPLIT, where she’s at in her career, and what’s to come for this new era of music.

Thank you so much for taking the time to chat with me today! We are just a few days away from the release of HEADSPLIT, how are you feeling? Can you walk me through all of the emotions you’re experiencing around this release?

I’m feeling super excited! I feel like every time I’m about to drop a project, it doesn’t even register in my brain. I don’t know, it’s a weird feeling. I know it’s coming, but it doesn’t register until the day of. I’m really excited though, I’m happy for it to finally come out.

Definitely. So, you wrote all of the lyrics for this project, which is incredible. Is that something you set out to do when you started creating this EP? Or was that something that just happened naturally?

I started the first couple of sessions doing it by myself, and I just wanted to try it. The first couple of sessions went really well, and I was really happy with how the songs were going. So, I just kind of stuck with it.

Do you have a particular lyric from this EP that you’re most proud of?

I think the more I listen to “one last time’… lyrically I really, really like that song. I don’t know if I have a specific lyric, but the lyrics on that song are really my favorite.

That’s actually my favorite track from the EP, I’m obsessed with it! It’s so intense. I was going to ask you about those lyrics, what do they mean to you?

Oh, thank you! So, “one last time” is funny because it’s one of those songs where I didn’t know what I wanted to talk about that day. I just was word vomiting, almost. I think it’s a mixture of different emotions. The feeling of being kind of lost, but also feeling like I’m wasting time. We don’t have forever. The reaper is knocking. Make the most out of your life, basically.

It’s interesting because thematically it can almost be an encouraging song to live your life to the fullest, or more of a pessimistic, “get it together or else” kind of thing. Do you see this song more as a warning, or is it optimistic to you?

Weirdly, I feel like lyrically this song is kind of sad, like a longing. But, I do think the song is more positive. Half of the song is about relationships, and leaving a relationship. Knowing that now we’re on our own, and there’s parts of me that you’re not going to know. There’s parts of you I’ll never know. But, we only live once. We’re trying to make the most of our moments. Hold onto the memories, and just do you.

I love it, so excited for that one to come out. How do you feel that the creative process for HEADSPLIT differed from your creative process for your previous project, SUCKERPUNCH?

I think the biggest difference was that I felt like coming off of PARANOIA, I felt like, “okay, let’s do the next thing.” That’s how SUCKERPUNCH came, I was just on a roll of writing and releasing that I felt so inspired. I think the difference between that and this project is that I didn’t feel that same inspiration. I felt like I really exhausted everything into those two projects. I felt like I didn’t have anything left. I feel like I was just having a lot of fun with my life outside of music, and I felt like for so many years, everything was just ‘music, music, music’ to me. Once SUCKERPUNCH came out, I was like, cool, I’m accomplished. And I just wanted to have a little break. 

I just felt like I had this writer’s block, I was a little uninspired. I didn’t know what direction I wanted to go in. So once we started doing the sessions, I told them: I really don’t know what I want to do on this project, I just know I want to do something, I need to start working again so I don’t fall into this hole of feeling uninspired. I feel like the biggest difference was that I didn’t really have a set goal for this project. I was battling with writer’s block. The more I started going into sessions, I finally started being like “okay, cool, I think I know what I want to do and the direction I want to go.” Everything started falling into place. The music, the style, the aesthetic… everything just started to fall into place, and I’m glad it did. But yeah, that was the biggest difference.

It all came together in the end, I feel like everything about it is really cohesive.

Yeah, thank you!

Of course! Do you feel like your sound has shifted since SUCKERPUNCH?

Yeah, definitely. I think there’s parts that are still the same, but I do think there are a lot of differences. I keep saying this project is softer, and everyone keeps saying ‘no it’s not.’ I think this project is softer. I feel like maybe it’s lyrically, is what I’m thinking is softer? I feel like there’s just different sounds I’m using, and the topics are lighter. It feels like a more whimsical, happier version of my past stuff.

Totally. I also have to ask you about the album art, is that a Saw trap on your head? What was the vision there?

Yeah, it is a Saw trap! Saw is my favorite scary movie franchise. I was having a really hard time with the cover art. I did so many different things, and none of them were sticking. I was listening to this one song, and this girl had like… she was like a robot or something. She had robot parts on her. I was like, wait, HEADSPLIT… I should do something where there’s some type of contraption on my head that’s going to look like my head will split. Then I thought of Saw, and I was like oh my god, I’m going to do a bear trap! That’s perfect. A cute little reference, that also looks really hard if you don’t know what it is.

Absolutely, continuing on the topic of visuals, could you tell me about the hostage music video?

Yeah, so basically hostage is about being trapped in your own mind, and just needing reassurance all the time. Just feeling like a burden. Everything’s good and happy, but for some reason my mind is pulling these tricks on me. So for the video, I really wanted to have sort of a Rapunzel reference, where I’m trapped in this house. But, the house represents my mind. So I’m literally just stuck in this never ending loop of misery in my mind.

I love that video, I felt like it matched the song so well. You have three featured artists on this project, I was wondering if you could tell me a bit about your collaborative process? How do you choose your collaborators?

So, usually I’ll just do a song, and I’ll hear a certain voice on the song. For “taking over me,” I really wanted a guy. I wanted him to kind of be rapping and screaming. And, I love Jasiah, I love his music. I’ve always wanted to work with him, I’ve always had him in the back of my mind, like “it’d be really cool to do a song with Jasiah.” So, when we finished the song, I was like, that’s perfect, I’m definitely going to ask Jasiah. With Alexis [Munroe], I love her. I love her music. I’ve been compared to her a lot, any time I play her song on my story people think it’s me. I really wanted to do something with a really cool girl, who’s also in the same scene and also is just my friend. I think she’s really cool. Siiickbrain, of course, I always like working with her because she’s my really good friend in real life. I like how she screams, and I wish I could scream, so I like using her.

From this whole creative process, do you have a specific session or memory that stands out to you?

I think probably the Siiickbrain session, just because I like working with her because she’s my friend. We have fun in the studio and just fuck around, so that was a fun one. That was probably my favourite.

It’s sick to be able to create with your friends, that’s really special. I wanted to also ask you about your live shows, could you tell me about what makes them so special for you?

Just getting to see fan reactions in real life. Obviously, you see the tweets and comments, but seeing it in person is so different. Also, you get to see reactions that were maybe unexpected. I remember when I was doing my last tour, one of my least favorite songs turned out to be everyone’s favorite song live. Just to see that kind of reaction, and get that kind of validation… it’s just nice.

It’s more of a concrete way to see how your music impacts people.

Exactly!

Do you feel that over the years, your fan base has grown alongside you? Or do you feel there are still people expecting another “Pretty Girl” era?

I think we’ve grown, I don’t think anyone expects that anymore. You know, I’m sure there are some people out there that want that, but I don’t think it’s expected of me anymore. I think people have definitely grown past that. They know, at this point.

Do you feel that at your shows, too? Is it mainly a community who are there for the music you are releasing now?

Yeah, I don’t know. I don’t think anyone comes to my shows expecting “Pretty Girl,” if they are, that’s crazy. I think all of the people who come to the shows, or listen to the music, know what they’re going to get. I feel like it’s a good community, everyone has so much fun. People are moshing and going crazy, it’s just really fun.

Totally, a completely authentic environment. So, your brand SWIXXZ has taken on a life of its own, almost. It’s a huge clothing brand, and is also the name of your label that you founded. What inspires you to keep expanding your brand and taking on these different projects?

I think that I just have a lot of different interests. Clothing is a huge thing for me, I just love clothes. You know, when your label asks for merch, I just always thought merch was a little bit overdone. Just my name and face on a shirt. I always wanted to do something I could actually wear, and it could be more of a little community thing, rather than people just wearing my face. So I really wanted to get into fashion for that, and be able to make stuff that I would want to wear. And, that people who aren’t a fan of me can wear. 

With SWIXXZ Audio, being able to have my own label and be my own boss is such a good feeling, as an artist. I think most artists sign to a label, and it’s just a really hard situation because there are so many perks of being signed, but there are so many downsides. Not being able to have full control of your art just sucks. Having my own label and being able to do things on my own time, and the things I actually want to do, is the best feeling. Being able to put out these videos with other artists and kind of highlighting their artistry, careers and passions is also something really meaningful to me. I think there’s this sense of community that’s really important.

I want to support other people, and I hope that they would want to support me. Being able to highlight other people and give my fans other artists to listen to or look up to… that’s just something fun for me too. 

Totally, it’s like creating a community through different avenues. Whether it’s clothes, or music, or anything.

Exactly!

How do you balance it all? You’re doing all of these different projects, is it ever overwhelming?

I don’t know, I think the main thing is that everything comes at different times. Obviously I’m always doing music, but maybe one day I’ll have a bunch of interviews and a session, then the next day I’ll have a SWIXXZ call and we’ll work on creative. I have days that are meant for other things, so I think that’s one thing that really helps me, a schedule and staying organized in that way. I don’t know, it just comes really naturally to me. All day I’m on Pinterest, or just working creatively. All of it comes naturally, it doesn’t feel like, “oh my god, I have so much to do.”

Absolutely, that makes complete sense. Lastly, to wrap up, circling back to the EP: what song are you most excited for fans to hear, if you can choose?

Definitely “you hold my love,” that’s my favorite one. I really hope people like that one, because it’s really different. I think people will like it, but I’m curious to see the reaction. I’m also excited for “rip my heart out” and “taking over me”… I’m excited for everything! I’m excited for the ones that are a little more unexpected, like “rip my heart out” and “you hold my love” because I’m curious to see how people will react to those.

HEADSPLIT is out now.

Interview Brigid Young

Featured image by Samantha Simmons