Scout Gillett (US) +

On Scout Gillett’s defining sophomore album Tough Touch, the Missouri-born, now LA-based, former Brooklynite emerges from years of relentless motion. Gillett has lived a lot of life in the time surrounding her acclaimed 2022 debut album no roof no floor: touring and traveling nonstop, enduring two painful breakups and a horrific near-death experience while filming a DIY video in West Virginia, and moving to Los Angeles after calling New York home for eight years. She describes this period as one of profound growth and vulnerability. Tough Touch, her first release for new label home Slouch Records, explores the pain and life force that such vulnerability brings, ​and the challenge of finding oneself amidst a world that’s always changing. Rendered with the gritty, glittery cosmic twang that makes Gillett’s sound so singular, Tough Touch finds her breaking new ground as a lyricist and exploring captivating, undefinable sonic terrain, each moment energized by her powerhouse vocals.

The album’s story begins in Gillett’s former Bed-Stuy bedroom, on her four-track Tascam portastudio. Away from the computer, she began crafting new songs with special focus on the writing itself. Between no roof no floor and Tough Touch, something fundamental shifted in Gillett’s artistic identity. « I connected more with being a writer and not just a musician, » she says. Some tracks were later demoed reel-to-reel in her living room and practice space, each iteration adding new layers and perspectives. This process allowed Gillett to rework lyrics, melodies, and structures with care, giving the songs a depth that feels earned. And next came an unconventional journey: Gillett embarked on what she calls her « build-a-band » tour, playing with musicians she’d never performed with before and committing to shows in unfamiliar cities, taking risks on trust and recommendations. That final lineup—longtime collaborator Ted Jamison (bass), Abdon Valdez (drums), and Omar Schambacher (guitar)—brought the chemistry she’d been searching for. « I felt really locked in with the band, and the band really was understanding and sensitive to the record. »

Since 2021, Gillett had been courting acclaimed producer and engineer Stuart Sikes, who’s worked on iconic albums including Cat Power’s The Greatest and Modest Mouse’s Good News for People Who Love Bad News. Years of persistence paid off when Sikes finally had an opening at his Austin studio just as Gillett’s band was coming off their first headlining European tour in spring 2024. Drawing inspiration from Neil Young, PJ Harvey, Hole, and Lucinda Williams, among others, Gillett and her collaborators recorded largely live, resulting in an album that surprises and mesmerizes at every turn—twangy yet brimming with raw urgency, grungy but soft at times, always expansive in its emotional range.

“Tough Touch,” one of the record’s thematic centerpieces, stands as Gillett’s favorite song to play live. Moving from delicate vulnerability to explosive catharsis, it captures the difficulty of opening yourself up after experiencing rejection and pain. “Too Fast To Last” was written with similar themes in mind after a bout of extensive touring. “It felt like I was unable to sustain romantic relationships and like I was always missing friends’ birthdays or shows. This song reflects on the feeling of chasing the highs and new experiences, but also feeling lost and trying to identify what’s changed and what has stayed the same,” she explains.

« If I Stay » was built in the studio, undergoing the most dramatic transformation of any song on Tough Touch. Originally a slow four-track demo about leaving a relationship, it became about leaving New York for Los Angeles, turning into a fiery B-52s–meets–The Cars–meets–grunge anthem along the way. The result perfectly encapsulates the record’s fearless experimentation and energy. Another standout, the heartfelt, melodic rocker “Coney Island” feels like a memory and finds Gillett discovering a deeper sense of self through love and loss. “Control”–one of the LP’s punchiest moments–propels forward with a pulsing drumline. “This song has three different studio recordings and all are very different from one another. It’s funny—the song just kept getting faster each time it was recorded, which is more like how it’s played live,” Gillett says. “What can I say? I like to rock.”

“Secret Life Of Trees” is an emotional apex. “This one was written after a near-death experience while I was filming a DIY video for my Broadcast cover of ‘Come On Let’s Go’ and fell off a ten foot cliff, puncturing my lung on a broken tree. After a very difficult healing process and the worry that I may never be able to sing the same again, I made this song,” Gillett explains. “I’m most proud of the writing in this one being less literal and more poetic: ‘Ribs rest like rings of willows—heart on chest, no wasted breath on words that change us and rearrange us.’ And things did change with my voice and performance after this experience. I feel so grateful to be alive and to obtain the ability to share my voice and songs and feel less shy doing so.”

Now settled in Los Angeles, Gillett has fallen in love with the landscape, her home, her community, and her independence. She’s already writing demos for her third album, continuing a journey that feels like purpose. When asked how Tough Touch differs from her previous work, she says: “These songs explore and explode on a deeper level. I’ve only gotten to know myself, others, and the world more with making music. Specifically with this record, I learned to have more confidence and to never settle for less or give up. I learned how to love myself and others more. When to stand my ground and follow my intuition–though it may be against the grain.” Tough Touch is the sound of an artist who trusted the process even when it was frightening, who stayed vulnerable even when it was painful, and who emerged with something undeniably her own.