Artistic expression is inextricably linked with self-evolution for singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Lola Balter. As the 19 year-old musician eyes navigates college in new york city, she takes solace in songwriting. 

“Songwriting is a coping mechanism for me. I channel hard emotions into songs, and get a product out of pain.”

Tucked into insightful songs of heartbreak, social commentary, and interpersonal relationships are Balter’s own stories. The inspiration may be personal, but the songs brim with universal truths. 

Balter’s sweetly melancholy indie-pop is inspired by Fiona Apple, Alex G, Slow Pulp, and Big Thief. Informing her vocals are years of formal training and singing along to big-voiced balladeers like Alicia Keys, Adele and Lady Gaga. Yet, Lola masterfully uses her vocal chops in service of a restrained sensibility with slow-burn lead vocals and soothing layers of harmony vocals. 

Since 2022, balter has amassed over 1 million cumulative listens on spotify and over 75,000 followers on her social media.

Select highlights in Lola’s program of singles include, “Willpower,” “S.O.A.P.,” “I Don’t Even Think About You Anymore,” and “no hard feelings.” There is a comforting indie-folk sensibility to “Willpower” with its fingerpicked acoustic guitar accompaniment, dreamy harmony vocals, and its tasteful atmospheric instrumentation. The song is a thought-provoking critique of social media’s unhealthy influence on body imaging. balter sings: Watch that mirror girl/You never know when it might change/Keep yourself busier Distraction is the best way to forget your own name. “S.O.A.P.” is intriguingly subversive, slipping in rawly emotive lyrics (the title is an acronym for “shell of a person”) within an ultra-hooky indie pop-rock song.

balter is currently finishing up her sophomore year of college, majoring in music business as she wants to develop her knowledge of the music industry. 

up next for lola, she is looking to explore new genres, taking influence from electronic artists like oklou and 2hollis. playing with her production, she wants to maintain the same songwriting influences, prioritizing lyricism over everything else in her music.