Mexican-American singer/songwriter Dani Stocksdale discusses the messy, exhilarating uncertainty of our twenties, the yearning, vulnerability, and romantic idealism that fuel her songwriting, and finding freedom in the unknown on her debut EP ‘Whatever This Is.’
Stream: ‘Whatever This Is’ – Dani Stocksdale
For a long time, I thought that uncertainty was scary or embarrassing. Now I see the beauty in not knowing what’s coming next.
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At 26, singer/songwriter Dani Stocksdale is releasing seven tracks about situationships, uncertainty, love, falling out of love, and validation on her new EP, Whatever This Is.
In this decade of emerging adulthood – of discovery and finding, or rediscovering, one’s identity – Stocksdale pours it all into a vintage-tinted, dreamy indie pop record.
“Bug Eyes,” the first song released from the EP, has a dreamy quality comparable to the rhythms and lyricism of Gracie Abrams and Clairo. A vulnerable, poetic telling of a moment when a person, a wish, is too near and yet too far, “Bug Eyes” remains a catchy and welcoming introduction to Whatever This Is – a phrase that, curiously enough, appears at the end of the song.
“Magnetic” pulls us further into Stocksdale’s dream-pop world and makes the theme of desire more concrete. It also introduces the listener to the deeper, more metaphorical side of Stocksdale’s songwriting. “Eager, X-ray man” is a metaphor for the way she is seen by somebody. This magnetic pull between two people demonstrates that sometimes there is no need for words or hiding. Some things can only be felt and seen face to face, too close to someone.
The synth-pop confession “Cigarette Rush” turns yearning into a metaphor grounded in the song’s backstory. After moving to a place where many people smoke cigarettes – including the man who became her crush – Stocksdale uses the habit, the addiction, as a metaphor for her own longing: How could something so small, yet harmful, linger more than she could in the life of another?
Fast-paced and pop-forward, made for a sun-filled drive, “Pretty Thing” focuses on yearning yet again, with Stocksdale singing in the bridge, “I just wanted you to see me,” her delivery intensifying the line. Meanwhile, “Again” is the EP’s key acoustic tune, with soft guitar that brings the casual and confusing together while carrying a spark of maturity that experience in your early twenties can bring. “It was good when it was good / But now we’re older / And I’m over it,” sings Stocksdale in the chorus, and later, “Hate how you still run my life,” capturing the push and pull of an on-and-off relationship. One part shows growth, and another shows nostalgia, falling into what seems like a spiral, again and again.
The saddest song on the EP is surely “Sexy,” with piano and raw vocals that deliver desperation and wanting. “Am I in your dreams, your fantasies?” is a question loud enough, but the answers are only silent. “Sexy” leaves us with the sense that there has already been enough waiting.
Finally, “Comety” sounds acoustic and nostalgic, almost the opposite of what it actually signifies. Its title sounds close enough to “comedy” – as Stocksdale herself points out – and captures the silliness of romanticizing a situation only for reality to turn out completely different from expectations. Reality can let us down, while imagination can take us much farther – as it did for Stocksdale.
I’ve wanted to control everything my entire life, and once you start letting go, you enjoy life and live in the moment more. I would say it’s about living life a little delusionally, but also a bit more freely.
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Amid the yearning for love and validation, and the uncertainty of what something true and long-lasting should look or feel like, Stocksdale finds a safe place: Music.
Music might remain her only certainty, becoming the compass with which she navigates the uncertainty of this stage of early adulthood. The tracks were born from moments in the artist’s recent life, from moving to Los Angeles to meeting new people, making it the ultimate feel-it-all EP. Whatever this is, it is turning out to be an honest portrait of the intricate path that transforms someone in their twenties.
In conversation with Atwood Magazine, Stocksdale discusses the meaning behind each of the songs, her musical identity, and the connection that keeps binding people through music.
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:: stream/purchase Whatever This Is here ::
:: connect with Dani Stocksdale here ::
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Stream: ‘Whatever This Is’ – Dani Stocksdale
A CONVERSATION WITH DANI STOCKSDALE
Atwood Magazine: Your music moves across different sounds and moods. That's what I perceived in the EP. A song like “Comety” feels acoustic and almost has touches of country, while other tracks lean more into indie or dream pop. What artists, genres, or records have influenced your songwriting and the sounds that you are developing?
Dani Stocksdale: I listen to a lot of Olivia Dean, Holly Humberstone, Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande, The Japanese House, Chappell Roan, MUNA, Eloise, and Bruno Major. I would say it’s definitely pop, but I really love artists who focus on lyrics and storytelling. Whenever I listen to new music, I always pull up the lyrics because it’s important for me to understand what they’re saying.
The lyrics are, I think, the most important part of the song. Getting into the EP, I want to start by talking about one of those slower-paced songs. Can you tell us the story behind “Comety”? What inspired that song and what does it mean to you?
Dani Stocksdale: The thesis of that song was, “He would try if he wanted.” I wrote it about a situation from when I lived in New York and was hanging out with one of my brother’s friends. A lot of the details in the first verse actually happened – the Uber, meeting him at his apartment, and shotgun beers in the bathtub shower.
It was about finally having this romantic experience that I’d built up in my head and realizing it wasn’t what I’d imagined. It’s about being let down by the expectations you’ve created around someone.
The title started as “Comet,” because we say “comet” in the chorus, and then the file became “Comety.” I liked it because it sounds like “comedy.” The whole story really is a comedy. It’s funny how silly we can be with people we have crushes on and idolize.
I think the title, now that you've explained it, is really clever.
Dani Stocksdale: It just stuck. It’s a play on words, and this tragedy really is a comedy.
I also read about “Cigarette Rush” as I listened to the song. You discussed it in an interview with Luna Collective, and it really caught my attention. For people who may not know the story behind it, could you tell us that story too?
Dani Stocksdale: I had just moved to LA, where cigarettes were a big part of the social environment. Then I met this boy who smoked, and when we kissed, it tasted like cigarettes. Eventually, I became almost jealous of the cigarettes because he seemed to need them the way I needed him.
When I have a crush on someone, they become my everything. I wanted him to crave me the way he craved cigarettes – to think about me when I wasn’t there. But eventually, I realized I was disposable, like a cigarette. That relationship burned quickly and ended quickly, but we got a lot of songs out of it.
At the end of “Bug Eyes,” you sing the phrase “whatever this is.” It's the last line. Looking back, do you think that you were already hinting at themes that would eventually become the EP?
Dani Stocksdale: When I wrote it, no. But when I was coming up with the title, I wrote “whatever this is” in my notes and realized it really encapsulated the project.
In your 20s, there’s so much uncertainty. Relationships aren’t always defined, careers can be temporary, and when people ask what you’re doing, sometimes you’re just like, “I don’t know. Whatever this is.”
For a long time, I thought that uncertainty was scary or embarrassing. Now I see the beauty in not knowing what’s coming next. It can be scary, but it can also be exciting.
As I analyzed and thought about the meaning of Whatever This Is, I thought, she's thinking about her 20s. Definitely. Another thing that I noticed in your EP is this recurring sense of yearning, like the desire to be seen, understood, or wanted by someone, as in “Cigarette Rush.” Why do you think those themes kept appearing in these songs?
Dani Stocksdale: Because I feel that every single day. I’ve always wanted to be chosen, desired, and to be the one for someone. I’ve never been in a relationship, so I’ve never felt chosen in that way.
I’m such a romantic at heart, and I think movies, books, and music have made me want that kind of love. Sometimes I create these romantic scenarios in my head and make them into something bigger than they are.
I have yet to find someone who matches me on that level, but wanting to be understood, loved, and desired is a constant feeling for me. That’s what a lot of these songs are about.
They say it happens when you least expect it.
Dani Stocksdale: I know, but I’ve tried not expecting it.
I get it.
Dani Stocksdale: Then you meet someone and think, “This is it,” and it becomes a situationship. That’s what a lot of these songs are. I throw myself into things and feel them completely. You can experience all these emotions in two weeks or a month, and then suddenly it’s gone, without the closure of a breakup.
Songs like “Pretty Thing” feel really intimate. That's what I perceive too – romantic at times, but also heartbreaking. Many of the songs on the EP feel deeply personal. Was it difficult to write and release songs that draw from such vulnerable emotions?
Dani Stocksdale: No, I actually love sharing vulnerable details. If it helps someone else feel seen or starts a conversation, that’s all I care about.
I love feeling seen when I hear other people’s music, so I want to give that feeling to someone else. I’m naturally an oversharer, but I try to be careful not to expose other people through my stories.
Sometimes I’ll write something and wonder if it’s too much, but those moments often become my favorite parts. I think the more we share, the more connected we feel.
Do you have any limits or barriers, or things that you think, “I'm not going to touch this at all,” in your songs or writing?
Dani Stocksdale: I try to keep nothing off limits, as long as I’m not exposing someone else. Since people don’t necessarily know who the songs are about, I can be pretty open.
There have been moments when I’ve worried that something is too much, but then I’ve realized that if that’s what I’m feeling, I should write it. Sometimes those are the parts I end up loving the most.
As long as people don't know who the man is, I think you're safe.
Dani Stocksdale: I think we’re good.
If you had to sum up Whatever This Is in a sentence, a feeling, or an idea, what would it be? What does this title represent for you as a whole?
Dani Stocksdale: I would say Whatever This Is is learning to accept life as it comes at you and let it flow through you instead of feeling like it’s happening to you.
I’ve wanted to control everything my entire life, and once you start letting go, you enjoy life and live in the moment more. I would say it’s about living life a little delusionally, but also a bit more freely.
I think that as you start letting go, or while you're in the process, the writing and the songs come easier. The songs are so natural and intimate. As a young artist releasing your debut EP, what keeps you doing music? What is your reason for making and sharing songs?
Dani Stocksdale: I love creating something out of thin air. If I go to a session today, something exists by the end of it that didn’t exist that morning.
But also, hearing how other people connect with the music is incredible. People have told me they see themselves in the songs, and I’ve had listeners from different parts of the world send me reactions to the EP.
Seeing how everyone reacts to the music in their own way is the coolest feeling. You get to see firsthand how your music has lived lives through other people.
I also love the community that comes with music – meeting producers, artists, writers, and listeners. People can live on opposite sides of the world and still be connected through someone’s music. That’s what keeps me going, especially when I’m in a writing dry spell.
I think you're somehow building that community.
Dani Stocksdale: I love connecting with people, and I love the connection that music brings into life.
We talked about the general themes that we see in this debut EP, but as you grow or in your 30s or later on, if you continue to do music, which I hope you do, do you think that those themes will change?
Dani Stocksdale: I think so. As I experience more of life, I think the music will develop and hopefully become more confident instead of feeling like I’m in this in-between state.
Right now, a lot of the themes are yearning, hoping, longing, and wanting. Maybe eventually I’ll have relationships and other experiences to write about. But I think uncertainty will always be part of life because no one knows what’s coming.
You moved to LA and wrote “Cigarette Rush,” and the songs are based on things that you've lived or learned. Do you think it can also work vice versa, and the songs teach you or make you learn new things?
Dani Stocksdale: I wish. I don’t think I’ve learned my lesson yet. I still go into things with my arms wide open and think, “This is going to be the one.”
But I think I’ve learned that I need to slow down, let things happen naturally, and not romanticize everything immediately. More than anything, I’ve learned that the people I’ve written about just weren’t my people. They weren’t the ones for me.
You've mentioned that you're part Mexican and speak Spanish very well. Are you thinking about making projects in the future that are Latin or Mexican genres, or even at least in Spanish?
Dani Stocksdale: Definitely. I wrote a song in Spanish on a writing trip in Nashville, and it felt natural because the production was bossa nova. I got to channel a different side of myself – the Mexican side – and it felt like a completely different personality.
I want to explore Spanish more, but I don’t want to force it. I’m looking for that feeling where a song simply has to be in Spanish.
It’s a huge part of who I am. I grew up speaking Spanish, spoke it with my grandparents and my mom, and I’m very proud of my Mexican culture. I definitely want that to become part of my musical identity.
Sometimes a feeling or a word simply has to be expressed in Spanish. I also love being able to share those songs with my Mexican family. The first song I wrote was actually in Spanish for my grandpa when he was getting pacemaker surgery.
I think it’ll eventually happen. It’ll probably still be somewhere in indie pop, but in Spanish – maybe something like The Marías or Kali Uchis.
That would be exciting.
Dani Stocksdale: We’ll see.
So that was my last question. I don't know if there's anything else you'd like to share or say.
Dani Stocksdale: I love interviews that are really thought out because I get to talk about the music and hear what people think about it. That’s one of my favorite parts of releasing music too – sharing something personal and seeing how other people connect with it.
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:: connect with Dani Stocksdale here ::
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© courtesy of the artist
© courtesy of the artistWhatever This Is
an EP by Dani Stocksdale
