Dolores Forever: “We’re not writing protest songs; we’re just taking action in any way we can”

DOLORES FOREVER turn social fatigue into something special on their magnificent debut album, ‘It’s Nothing’. 

Words: Ciaran Picker.
Photos: Francesca Allen.

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Dolores Forever’s debut album, ‘It’s Nothing’, has come at exactly the moment we needed it most. Turning trauma into treasure, the unbreakable friendship of Julia Fabrin and Hannah Wilson manifested into an album that is as vulnerable as it is visceral, exploring some of the world’s heaviest topics with a levity that could only come from a pair totally in tune with each other.

‘It’s Nothing’ is, in many ways, an album of contrasts. On the one hand, it’s an exploration of friendship – one which brings a shoulder to cry on, turns those tears into laughter, and gives you a warm hug and a glass of Merlot. On the other, it’s a depressingly relevant account of misogyny, socioeconomic inequality, and a general sense that the end of days is merely one doomscroll away.

The album title itself is another of these contrasts, one which evidences the depth and breadth of the emotions explored across the record, while also representing the eminently everyday vocabulary that keeps this album both accessible and relatable.

“It’s taken from a line in [album track] ‘Go Fast Go Slow’: ‘I lie in bed at night and I pretend it’s nothing’,” Hannah explains. “Usually, when somebody says ‘oh, it’s nothing’, it actually means it’s really something. That’s sort of a theme across this record, really. It’s about us reconciling with our position in the wider world; we’re too loud, too big, too opinionated for certain sections of society, so it’s easier to just say ‘it’s nothing’ than get into it. On the other hand, it’s also mildly a joke between us because it’s our debut, so it means everything to us. To call it ‘It’s Nothing’ just made us laugh!”

“Screaming about carbs is empowering!”

Hannah Wilson

Humour is key to this record, not only keeping the duo sane while writing but also adding joy and hope to an album that could easily spiral out of emotional control. Nowhere is this clearer than in fan favourite ‘Someday Best’, where one line hit home so fervently that it became a Dolores Forever merch tagline: “shut up and eat the pasta.”

“Screaming about carbs is empowering!” Hannah chuckles. “We’re basically trying to counter moments of real tenderness with more empowering takes. Obviously, there’s serious emotion around body image in ‘shut up and eat the pasta’, but we wanted to twist some of it so it’s a lighter take on it; otherwise, it would just become depressing.”

These serious emotions are crucial to conveying the exact message that Dolores Forever stands for – one centred on community, on using your platform for good, and on being unapologetically yourself. The adeptness with which Hannah and Julia delve into these feelings is something that has been developed over years within the industry as songwriters for some of the world’s biggest stars.

“I think it’s more challenging to write for yourself,” Julia admits. “When you’re writing for other people, it’s about trying to get into their perspective, whereas this is like using a different part of your brain; it’s quite emotionally draining by the end.” Hannah nods: “Dolores is as authentic and true as we can be; we’re trying to represent ourselves instead of other people.”

Luckily, the pair had time to work these feelings out over a writing and recording session, the bulk of which happened over a few months, although a few songs are two years old. Not only did this allow time to play with different sounds and work with different producers, but it also allowed them to adapt to changing circumstances in the world around them.

“If it had been a one-week writing session, it would have been one week of writing followed by a week in therapy!” Hannah smiles. She continues, “The songs are a combination of stuff that we hadn’t even realised had been affecting us for a while, as well as some of the vital, unignorable stuff that’s happening right now. Art has always been about people figuring themselves out, and for our debut album, we knew we wanted to do that more, just as a ‘if we’re feeling this, surely other people are too?!’”

As experienced songwriters, though, Julia and Hannah were able to create the perfect environment to both present these feelings and craft the perfect album to really flesh them out. Crucially, they were able to do so while having total control over the direction of their own project instead of bowing down to external voices.

“When we went in, we knew we wanted to make an album,” Julia states, “because we had a few songs that had a similar energy and just gave us the perfect blueprint for a bigger body of work. We’re also both drawn to the same sounds that we think are really cool, and it means we reduced down the number of instruments we used so that we weren’t overwhelmed being like, ‘Oh, maybe we should use this or maybe that’; we were focused on creating an energy and just perfectly crafted pop songs.”

This fine-tuning to create as close to perfection as possible took hold with regard to the mechanics of the album too, with the duo keen to ensure that the album felt sharp and succinct so as to keep their message at the forefront.

“When we started, we were both super keen to keep it as a ten-track record,” Julia remembers. “A few nearly crept in at the last minute, but we wanted it to represent us, and keeping it tight meant we had to really focus on what we were saying and trying to do.” Hannah continues, “I’m an overly emotional songwriter; I find points of tension really interesting, but we wanted to make sure it was digestible; if we’d just kept adding songs, it would have become a depressing dirge.”

In this way, even the songs that are more heartfelt still retain an upbeat feel, with platonic love song ‘Split Lip’ being a case in point. All about picking someone up when they can’t seem to keep their head above water, the overall feel of the song mirrors that of the album; it’s a tough world out there, but there’s still plenty of love and laughter to be shared.

There’s arguably never been a more important time to inject that warm soul back into music, especially for a band like Dolores Forever, who aren’t afraid to tackle the big issues. Taking heart from everyday acts of resistance, Hannah and Julia have slowly been able to establish a space within the music industry that radiates cautious positivity and effortlessly draws fans to them.

“It’s a really scary world,” Hannah observes, “and we live in a privileged part of it. It’s really tough to be so connected to the news every minute of every day and then to try to process that without dragging yourself under.”

“If you look at something like [opening track] ‘Not Now Kids’,” she continues, “it’s all about that sense of powerlessness, like you’re a pawn in a big game of chess, but that’s why we make it clear that we’re focusing on what we can affect. We’re not writing protest songs; we’re just taking action in any way we can, and if that’s getting a group of people together and screaming about how terrified we all are at a show, then that’s good enough for us.”

Live shows are where Dolores Forever really comes into its own – an entity that embodies togetherness and catharsis and one that journeys back to the band’s clandestine origin. Hannah reminisces, “When we were considering whether we should form a band or not, we did a load of secret shows at open mics just to see if we had chemistry. Now we’ve done about seventy shows, but we’d have done so many more if it weren’t so expensive.”

This hits on the other big reason that Dolores Forever feel obliged to keep their music plugged into the political sphere. As independent artists, budgets have always been tight, but they seem to keep shrinking with each passing year.

“I don’t think people realise how expensive touring actually is,” Julia says. “It’s one of the biggest problems with the industry because it’s the classic way of learning about your own artistry and what songs people want to hear; it’s the best way to build a fanbase and to discover your new favourite bands. But if those bands can’t afford to tour, you end up with a world where it’s only the biggest pop stars who can afford to play live.”

Hannah nods, “If you look at someone like Rachel Chinouriri, it proves that point. She’s done Jools Holland, she’s got Florence Pugh in her music video, her numbers on music apps look great, and to top it off, she’s just brilliant. She’s grafted and grafted, jumped through all the hoops the industry has told her to jump through, and she still has to turn down amazing opportunities. It’s reflective of society at large: the rich get richer while the poor stay poor.”

“We were focused on creating an energy and just perfectly crafted pop songs”

Julia Fabrin

This is one of the aforementioned “unignorable” problems that Dolores Forever are here to scream about, and rightly so. This desire to make music that carries a message, that actually says something, is one of the many reasons why the band has such a timeless quality. Add to that the vibrant, punky energy of tracks such as ‘Why Are You Not Scared Yet?’ or even the 90s indie-pop vibe of ‘Concrete’, and you have an atmosphere that could fit in any decade and still carry the considerable weight that it does today.

The pair aren’t naïve to the balancing act that comes with trying to get somewhere, though – namely, that compromising on their morals to make their dreams come true could undermine their message. Hannah expertly handles this point, proving that while they understand the risk, it couldn’t be further from the truth.

“There’s a lot of dancing with the devil, like thanking streaming platforms for playlist inclusions when they don’t pay songwriters, or using a social media app to promote your latest single after you just saw a bomb being dropped on a hospital on the same app. It goes back to just being able to control what we can, so where an artist that might claim to be climate-conscious puts out 15 physical variations of their latest album, all using plastic, we’re not going to do that. It’s a constant compromise, but art is meant to be empathetic to what’s happening in the world, and the best way that we can do that is to be authentic to ourselves and to our fans.”

In fighting back against all the forces that are trying to keep them down, Dolores Forever have forged a fierce reputation that has won them the hearts of an equally fierce fanbase that makes all the dark days and heartache worthwhile, once again underlining the hope that the duo’s candour can bring.

“Our headline shows give us so much,” Julia beams. “They’re the antidote to all the other stuff; they make everything worthwhile.” Hannah adds, “They add a real-life angle to everything we do, which is a really beautiful experience. I just want to keep doing this thing for as long as possible.”

That’s a sentiment that will be echoed by anyone fortunate enough to encounter Dolores Forever in the coming days and weeks. ‘It’s Nothing’ is one hell of a something, made by a band that truly are the real deal. Dolores Forever forever? Yes, please.

Taken from the October 2024 issue of Dork. Dolores Forever’s debut album ‘It’s Nothing’ is out 27th September.