Georgia Nott, best known as one half of New Zealand duo BROODS, steps into a different spotlight with her latest EP ‘Split Lip’ under her solo project, Georgia Gets By. It’s a collection born from the emotional aftermath of her first queer relationship, where every track unpacks layers of vulnerability and desire. Far removed from the glossy electronic pop of her BROODS days, this EP strips things back, allowing Georgia’s raw lyricism and sound to take centre stage.
Featuring songs like the intimate ‘Not This Time’ and the fiery ‘Split Lip’, the EP dances between moments of emotional turbulence and calm reflection. “Not This Time is about returning to an ex… scraping the bottom of the barrel of intimacy,” Nott explains, laying bare the heartbreak that threads through the project. Despite its deeply personal nature, there’s also a sense of release, a willingness to embrace the chaos of love, heartbreak, and growth.
In this Artist’s Guide, Georgia takes us on a track-by-track journey through ‘Split Lip’, unpacking the stories and emotions behind each song. From the angsty tension of ‘The Deal’ to the soothing calm of ‘Not Lost Just Losing’, this is Georgia at her most exposed.
THE DEAL
‘The Deal’ is probably the most angsty song on the EP. I was feeling especially unhinged at the time. I wrote it about trying to honour boundaries when you would much rather just forget all about them. It swings back and forth between knowing that you need to have space from someone and then desperately wanting to be around them. When you know it’s for the best to leave one another alone but you still get pulled back to them.
SOME KIND OF ANGEL
‘Some Kind Of Angel’ is about being in awe of someone, yet something holds you back from going all in. There is a dull ache that dwells, making sure you don’t forget how much it would hurt to have it all turn to shit. You have moments of believing in a future with them, but one foot is always out the door in the name of self-preservation.
SPLIT LIP
‘Split Lip’ is all about desire in its earliest phase, when it completely engulfs you. There is no thought of the future, love, or responsibility. It is purely physical, primal and unbridled. For a moment, it feels like you can really separate your heart from your body. But alas, these collisions are short-lived by nature, and sooner or later, feelings creep in whether you like it or not.
MADELINE
‘Madeline’ is a desperate love song. I wrote it after meeting someone who would open my world in a way that felt almost violent. Falling in love with them made me simultaneously collapse and transcend. It was my first queer relationship, and I knew as soon as we met that I would be changed by her. It was something wild and almost religious to finally have that part of me come out.
NOT THIS TIME
‘Not This Time’ is about coming to terms with walking away from something you really don’t want to walk away from. Knowing that it’s for the best and no matter how much you bargain, you ultimately have to surrender to the fact that you don’t belong there anymore. In a way, it is the more tender counterpart of ‘The Deal’.
NOT LOST JUST LOSING
The last song on the EP, ‘Not Lost Just Losing’, is the one song that truly feels like it came from a place of calm. I had been writing from a place of uncertainty for so long, and although there is an element of that in this track too, it feels like it’s wrapped in a sense of trust. That, even in the purgatory of leaving your old life behind, there is some deeper knowing that you’re still on track.
Georgia Gets By’s EP ‘Split Lip’ is out now.
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