Los Angeles-based songwriter and producer Lina Cooper creates confessional indie pop with an unabashed edge. She recently dropped her debut, It Hurts Too Much To Speak EP, back in August. Its five tracks alluringly merge her eviscerating and heart-wrenching lyricism with a triumphantly cathartic sincerity.
Cooper’s journey started in her hometown in Eastern Ukraine, where she was born into a home overflowing with abundant musical tastes. From the rock-n-roll and blues that her father played to the jazz/classical music enjoyed by her mother. Her grandfather also introduced her to the likes of ABBA and the glam-rock of Queen.
But growing up, she leaned toward the heartfelt openness afforded by pop — watching MTV music videos and saving up her lunch money to buy Katy Perry and Taylor Swift CDs. She was just nine years old when her family enrolled her in a music school, where she took lessons learning both classical and contemporary guitar. By the time she was a teenager, she studied music theory and collaborated with classmates to release original music.
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At 17 years old, Cooper took her significant first step when she was accepted into the Berklee College of Music and moved to the U.S. Once there, she continued to record new songs and even started cutting her teeth as a performer in Boston venues and radio shows. In the middle of the pandemic, she took another leap and moved to L.A. with her two best friends.
An outpouring of singles followed, including lilting “This Time” and the far more electronic “Here To Stay.” Over the next two years, she self-released a series of songs and collaborations that honed her sound into a shape-shifting array of pop. Whether she’s filing down the teeth of her stinging lyricism on “If You Ever Leave Me” or relinquishing her internal monologues on tracks like “I Kinda Wanted You To Stay” — Cooper has a talent for entangling you in the revelatory poetics of her songs.
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Her debut EP momentarily forgoes the emphatic pop sonics of her previous singles in favor of acoustic-led melodies replete with sonorous instrumentals. On its title track, she syncs her anguished attempts to articulate her feelings to a thrummingly urgent explanation for why she makes music in the first place.
While songs like the galvanizing “Easy” or fiercely honest folk-tinged “Something To Lose” reveal the gutting potency of her music. Then there’s the withering “Your Crimes” — a song that reminds listeners that it can also pack a scathing bite.
After playing a string of shows at L.A. staple venues in 2022, like The Viper Room and El Cid, as well as the Hotel Cafe back in June of this year, there’s a good chance you’ll be able to catch her live again sometime soon!
Visit Lina Cooper on their website, TikTok, and Instagram to stay updated on new releases and tour announcements.
Words: Steven Ward
Listen to It Hurts Too Much To Speak the new EP from Lina Cooper.
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