Penelope Scott Reveals the Philosophy and Story Behind Her Mysteries for Rats EP

It's no stretch to say that we've never heard music quite like singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer Penelope Scott's, and with the release of her new Mysteries for Rats EP, we're more infatuated than ever.

Penelope is beloved for her soul-baring lyricism and unique glitchy, chiptune sound, but her latest works—a double EP composed of Mysteries for Rats and Nov. 3's Girl's Night—are more stripped-back (for Penelope, at least). While Girl's Night focused on rawer guitar and piano, Mysteries for Rats brings those signature cyberspacey sounds back in on its five tracks, but with extra intention to create something completely different from the artist. We were hooked from first listen, and Penelope was kind enough to tell us how it came to be in the following interview.

Sweety High: What does the EP name Mysteries for Rats mean to you? Why did that title feel like the perfect summation of this group of songs?

Penelope Scott: Mysteries for Rats is actually inspired by an idea I encountered in my undergrad thesis work, which was about philosophy of language and how those concepts apply to music. This specific phrase comes from a passage where linguist and philosopher Noam Chomsky is basically trying to describe a kind of knowledge that might be out of our range of understanding. He's saying that there are some mazes rats just can't solve—their brains don't have the ability to solve them—and he's saying that there might be puzzles like that for us. There might be mysteries for humans that one person is not able to solve, in the same way that some mazes are just mysteries for rats. I thought this concept of shared thinking structures, and in the same breath shared vulnerability, was a really beautiful and meaningful concept. And I think this concept of a problem that a person just can't solve no matter how much data they have, just because of the type of problem it is, is the source of so much suffering for us, and also so much creativity and kindness.

(Photo credit: Tyler Borchardt)

 

SH: What do you feel are the overarching themes of the EP? What kind of feel do you hope fans take away from it?

PS: I think the overarching themes of the EP are dysfunction and finding a way to function within dysfunction, whether that's intellectually, spiritually or interpersonally. It's about very abstract and simple patterns that you can look at and study, which cause profound positive and negative experiences in our soft human lives.

 

Also read about: Zoe Wees on the Therapeutic, 4-Year Process of Putting Together Her Debut Album, Therapy

 

SH: How would you describe the EP's sound? Production-wise, how did you go about bringing these tracks to life?

PS: I would describe the EP's sound as produced, but not really glitchy. I had a lot of fun with Public Void, and it was almost an experiment in production hedonism. Public Void had all these fun, candy-colored sounds, and these reckless bass tracks that sounded almost deep-fried. But with Mysteries for Rats, I really wanted to let some of those inclinations mature. I wanted to be more thoughtful with which instruments I was choosing and what that choice meant and said. I tried to really lean into having composition and production that restates what the lyrics are saying in their own ways. I hope this balance between hedonism and intentionality works for the listeners.

 

SH: How do you feel that these songs represent where you all are in life right now?

PS: I feel that these songs, along with Girl's Night, represent me pretty well. I am trying to find function within dysfunction, and I'd like to be vibing as I do that. I also feel like Mysteries for Rats and Girl's Night both reflect a post-college identity and the kind of transition that accompanies that. If my life isn't about school anymore, it must be about other people, and maybe that's what made school worthwhile in the first place.

 

SH: What's your favorite song on the EP? Why?

PS: My favorite song on the EP is "Sin Eater." I had things I wanted to say, and I feel like I've said them. "Sin Eater" is for people who are not righteous and indignant. "Sin Eater" is for people who want to wake up tomorrow and try to be a kinder animal. I had a lot of fun and a lot of strife with the composition and the production, and I have listened to this song so many times that I can barely hear it anymore. It's my favorite one.

 

Also read about: Maisy Kay Breaks Down Every Track on Her New Metamorphosis EP

 

SH: Was your approach to this EP different from how you wrote and created Girls Night? In what ways?

PS: While some of the Girl's Night songs had been casually in the works for years, all of Mysteries for Rats is relatively new. So that's one distinction. I also wrote the Girl's Night songs more or less on the instruments they're recorded on (except for "Time of My Life"), whereas I wrote all of Mysteries for Rats (except for "Cemetery Pigeons") with an eye towards virtual instruments and production.

 

SH: Is there anything else you'd like to add?

PS: A big thanks to everyone who helped me put these songs together, and another thanks to the people in my life who are sick of them already!

 

For more on our favorite new releases today, click HERE to read our interview with Ryder Beer on his debut single, "Can't Take It."