Ahead of Lowertown‘s tour, which kicks off on April 28th, WPRB’s very own Momo sat down with the indie rock duo to talk new music, Atlanta DIY roots, and forest concerts. Lowertown’s new album, Ugly Duckling Union, emphasizes community, experimentation, and returning to form. More than music, their new project “build[s] a world around the music”.
Access the interview audio here or read our time-stamped transcript below:
WPRB X LOWERTOWN INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT 4.8.2026
[00:00 – 01:00]
Momo:
So yeah, I’m so excited for your tour to start on April 28th—that’s amazing. And your new album Ugly Duckling Union is coming out soon. You guys started in 2018, and your sound has evolved a lot—from bedroom pop to something more edgy and melancholic, like The Gaping Mouth. How does this new album fit into that progression?
Lowertown:
It feels like a natural progression. Honestly, Ash and I keep saying it’s kind of a return to form—like how we first started recording music in his basement, doing everything ourselves. We wanted to capture that feeling again.
At the same time, it’s more evolved. We’re older, more confident, better at our instruments and singing. The lyrics feel more processed and existential, instead of just immediate and raw.
So in a weird way, it feels like our first album again—but also a big step forward.
[01:00 – 02:00]
Lowertown:
We also made this album without deadlines or external pressure. We worked on it over like a year and a half, maybe two years. That gave us space to experiment and try anything we felt inspired by.
We revisited our friendship too, and I think that really comes through in the music.
Momo:
That’s really cool. What’s something you learned about making music during this process?
[02:00 – 03:30]
Lowertown:
For me, I felt more inspired to sing. I sing a lot more on this album. And we kind of swapped roles—Liv wrote more guitar parts, and we pushed ourselves into areas we weren’t as confident in.
We also experimented a lot with writing—setting prompts, letting ourselves fail. That freedom made it fun. We wrote a ton of songs and then chose the ones that made sense thematically.
[03:30 – 05:00]
Momo:
You mentioned a more DIY process. You started in the Atlanta DIY scene but are now based in New York—how have those places influenced your music?
Lowertown:
Atlanta was a huge influence. It’s such a cultural melting pot—musically and artistically. It made us feel like we could make anything without fitting into a specific genre.
When we moved to New York, we got really into punk and hardcore, and that definitely shaped our sound too. But that Atlanta influence—being genre-less—has stayed with us.
[05:00 – 07:30]
Momo:
This new album centers around a fictional character, Dale the ugly duckling. Can you talk about that?
Lowertown:
Yeah. We love storytelling—TV, movies, comics—it’s a big part of our friendship. We wanted to build a world around the music.
Dale represents community, which is really important to us. A lot of the idea came from online spaces and how those turned into real-life communities for us, especially through music scenes.
He’s kind of an embodiment of what’s positive about art and connection, especially post-COVID.
[07:30 – 10:00]
Momo:
That’s awesome. Also, the design is really cute.
Lowertown:
Our friend Dr. Nowhere designed him—he’s amazing.
Momo:
You’re about to go on tour—what excites you most about performing live?
Lowertown:
We love touring now. At first, we were more focused on recording, but now it feels incomplete without performing.
Live shows let us create unique versions of songs and connect directly with people. We also love meeting fans—especially when they’ve connected through our Discord or Minecraft server and meet in real life at shows.
[10:00 – 13:00]
Momo:
Do you have a memorable live show experience?
Lowertown:
Yeah—Defend the Forest in Atlanta in 2023. It was during protests against “Cop City.” People were literally living in treehouses to protect the forest.
We played in the rain, deep in the woods, with generator power. It felt like real community—everyone coming together for something meaningful.
[13:00 – 15:30]
Momo:
How does touring change your relationship with your music?
Lowertown:
It changes everything. Songs evolve live—we adjust arrangements, experiment, and see what works.
It’s kind of like workshopping in real time. We don’t want to just recreate the recorded version—we want each performance to feel unique.
[15:30 – 18:00]
Momo:
Anything you want to share with listeners?
Lowertown:
We have a new song coming out on the 22nd, the tour starts the 28th, and the album drops May 22nd.
Join the Ugly Duckling Union—we’ve got a number on our Instagram where you can sign up. It’s a community thing, and we do special stuff for members.
Momo:
Awesome. Thanks so much for talking with me.
Lowertown:
Thank you!