ANAÏS & THE HOOPS RELEASED DEBUT EP, GROWING PAINS

Words by Marios Stamos

Three years, countless late-night writing sessions, and one cross-country move later, Anaïs & The Hoops has delivered something special. Growing Pains, her new six-track EP released on 5 September, feels like the musical equivalent of flipping through old photo albums while simultaneously planning your future: nostalgic, playful, and refreshingly authentic.

What makes this project shine are the collaborative fingerprints all over it. From producer Ben Coleman and her live band of New York musicians to her mom refining the lyrics of her first French-language song, Passe le temps, and a poem by her friend Alex Brady becoming part of Cool.

“It’s been fun to cobble together,” Anaïs shares. “Basically, every song was touched by someone in or around the live band.”

Written during that pivotal chapter when she moved from California to New York and started embracing who she really wanted to be, these are more than songs – they’re snapshots of transformation.

The EP captures that too-familiar internal tug-of-war of growing up while desperately wanting to hold onto the kid you once were. “These songs were some of the first I wrote that truly felt like me,” Anaïs says. “Most of these songs came together after I moved from California to New York, at a time when I was figuring out who I wanted to be. That chapter of my life gave me the chance to embrace the traits and experiences that now define me as both an artist and a person.”

With jazz-infused vocals, catchy pop melodies, and vulnerable, introspective lyrics all wrapped in a captivating retro aesthetic, Anaïs tackles themes of identity, nostalgia, and self-discovery. She does it with the kind of honesty that makes you feel less alone in your own growing pains.

Brooklyn-based but San Diego-raised, Anaïs Lund got her start performing in jazz clubs and restaurants before finding her own musical footing in 2019, when she began writing the songs that would shape Anaïs & The Hoops. Beyond her growing streaming footprint and social following, Anaïs has quickly built a reputation as a magnetic live act. She’s sold out her own headline shows, performed at NXNE Music Festival in Toronto, and opened for artists like Jade Bird and Thunder Jackson.