After lighting up the Troubadour, Fake Dad’s Andrea de Varona and Josh Ford are gearing up to launch a new project, new music, and back-to-back tours – proving they’re anything but ‘fake.’

Stream: “Science Fiction” – Fake Dad

Andrea de Varona shows her collection of swords – wielding the instruments with theatrical flair – while offering up an “openly weird” track about a teenage crush.

It’s more than just a promo for Fake Dad’s latest single “Science Fiction,” it’s a near-perfect depiction of the band themselves: bold, dramatic, and determined to use their talent to cut through musical monotony.

“I think teenage me would be like, ‘This is f*ing sick! But wait, who are you? Like you’re actually saying that stuff out loud and you’re not scared or embarrassed? I can’t believe you actually sound kinda cool,’” says de Varona.

de Varona and collaborator Josh Ford offer something “much cheaper than therapy and almost 50 percent as effective” – an interesting mix of curiosity and wit they’ve leveraged to go from relative unknowns to closing out the year headlining at L.A.’s legendary Troubadour.

Science Fiction - Fake Dad — Science Fiction – Fake Dad

With de Varona’s deceptively angelic vocals and their sharply subversive lyrics, the indie-rock/pop duo are becoming masters at grabbing listeners’ attention like an unexpected twist in a horror film. But it doesn’t feel like an easy way to snag likes and views, rather a genuine reflection of artists who trust their instincts – and each other – a partnership nearly a decade in the making.

Their 2025 release Holly Wholesome and the Slut Machine continues the trajectory set by their previous EPs, offering even more creative storytelling and a more defined sound.

As they gear up for a couple of tours (Strawberry Fuzz in February/March and Wallice in April), dropping new music and a special project in the near future, Fake Dad talked with Atwood Magazine about primal stage-crashers, the sometimes-crushing impact of comparison, and making music that makes you feel understood.

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Stream: “Science Fiction” – Fake Dad

A CONVERSATION WITH FAKE DAD

Atwood Magazine: 2025 was a wild year for you … new music, lots of shows, and then casually ending the year at the Troubadour. What were the “holy shit, this is actually happening” moments? And did the year turn out anything like you expected?

Fake Dad: Going on our first ever national tour in March of 2025 was both of our “omg, we’re finally doing this, and I’m so happy and so tired and wouldn’t want to be anywhere else, doing anything else, with anyone else” moment.

If teenage you could hear “Science Fiction,” do you think she’d be proud, mortified or …?

Fake Dad: I think teenage me would be like, “This is f*ing sick! But wait, who are you? Like you’re actually saying that stuff out loud and you’re not scared or embarrassed? I can’t believe you actually sound kinda cool. Guess you didn’t go to law school. How’s this all going for ya?”

When one of you brings in an unexpected idea (like a Slender Man crush song) what’s the usual reaction?

Fake Dad: After being together for nine and doing this music thing consistently for five, coming on six years, the answer is almost always, “hell yeah, let’s do it!” And if it’s not that, it’s met with a little bit of trepidation but also a level of trust, so like, “yeah, we can try? Not entirely sure how it’s gonna work out, but why not?” We’ve become very comfortable with throwing shit at the wall together.

“Demonology” is dark but playful. What inspired the lyrics, and is there a line you’re eager to sing when you do it live?

Fake Dad: Feeling like you’re almost forced to continuously compare yourself with those around you who are fighting for and aspiring towards the same goal, and kind of using them as a measuring stick to either make you feel better about yourself or ultimately make you feel like a failure, less than, and unfilled. (From my experience, it’s been specifically other women, queer, and non-male indie artists kind of in, around or adjacent to circles). Regardless, the song was initially inspired by that yucky feeling that I wish I could fully expel from my mind and heart and never feel again. But alas, it seems society and the industry feed us with a kibble that keeps us hungry for that very thing.

The line I’m most eager to sing live is the first line of the song, “Look, I get it, I get it, so does every other bitch in this town.” It was literally the first line I ever wrote for the song, and it remained exactly as is through the end, no edits. It really cuts to the core of that feeling, knowing this kind of pain so well that you empathize with the very person who might hate you, or at the very least have done you wrong in some way, because you figure that they are at least partially suffering in the same way you are.

You’re fearless in your music and performances. Offstage, do you keep that energy or are you secretly responsible adults?

Fake Dad: Offstage, I think (Andrea) I am way more chill and unassuming than my stage persona, but I definitely have moments around those I’m most comfortable with where I can be pretty impish and hotheaded.

I’d say Josh is pretty similar off stage and on – very confident, playful, and fast-talking/witty, always cracking jokes. He’s always been more immediately comfortable with strangers and can strike up a conversation with anyone.

I think it would be difficult to shock you, but what’s the wildest thing that’s ever happened to you on stage?

Fake Dad: Probably when men (who weren’t invited) hop on stage and do it in a pretty intense way and get weirdly close to my face. It can be scary because you really don’t know what their next move is going to be. As much as we want our shows to always be this carefree space where everyone can let loose and be themselves, sometimes people get a bit too primal, if you know what I mean. I box, though, and I’m learning to not be afraid to kick someone’s ass if I need to.

You’ve mentioned loving artists who “pretend” in interesting ways. What’s the most fun part of pretending in your own work?

Fake Dad: Probably pretending to be ultra-confident, I-don’t-give-a-f*** versions of ourselves on stage and at times throughout the writing process. These characters are definitely flawed, and the biggest difference between them and who we are in the day-to-day is that they don’t seem to give a rat’s ass what the people watching or listening think about them. They are just happy to be.

When we’re “pretending,” there’s always a realness there, and we’re always having a good time, but we also behave with this grandeur that I feel neither of us possesses quite as fully off-stage.

Do you usually start writing with a fully formed concept, or does it more often begin with one of you saying something unhinged and the other going, “Wait, that’s actually a song”?

Fake Dad: I think 90 percent of the time, the first couple of lines are just whatever feels right based on how the instrumentation is developing. We make lyrics and music in tandem. As we continue to build out the lyrics and melody, it sort of becomes clear in retrospect what the song is actually about. It’s like, you get out of the way of the message, and let your brain tell you what it needs to write about. Sometimes it’s surprising.

Is there a song you’ve written that you felt shouldn’t be released, but did it anyway? If so, what changed your mind?

Fake Dad: Honestly, the only song I’ve ever really felt that way about is “Science Fiction,” and more than anything because of the lyrics and subject matter. It’s likely the most sexually explicit, out-there, and kind of openly weird we’ve been as songwriters so far. Even though there’s a lot of half-truths to the story, the overall message and yearning/sexual freedom of the song felt important for us to release at this particular moment of our lives in conjunction with where things are culturally/politically in the world at large.

If a movie was made about Fake Dad, what would be the plot and who would you want to play you?

Fake Dad: It would be fun to play ourselves like that Kneecap movie. And then everyone is like “whoa, how are they so good at acting.” But if not that, and it happens years after our busiest era when we’re old and gray, I just want whatever super-hot Hollywood starlets are popular at the time. Just a couple conventionally attractive 20-somethings that look nothing like us, and they have to spend HOURS in the makeup chair just to look like two regular people you could find on the street in Brooklyn. Just brutal, thankless work.

What’s next? Anything you want to add?

Fake Dad: We’ll be touring a ton in 2026, and we’re SO excited. Touring is our favorite – we’ve really been itching to get back on the road. This year we’ll be hitting most of the States (and hopefully later in the year some other fun places). Also, we got new music coming this year and a project called Sci-Fi Fantasy that we’re very excited about.

Rapid Fire: Which song of yours always surprises you when the crowd reacts to it?

Fake Dad: “ON/OFF” and “Crybaby”

If you could only play one song for the rest of your life, which would it be?

Andrea de Varona: “Dreams” by Fleetwood Mac.

Josh Ford: Just like, vague bossa nova chords.

Which track was the most fun to record and why?

Andrea: “So Dramatic!” It was so fun and silly the whole way through, and also felt extremely fast and effortless.

Josh: “Invader.” The energy was so crazy and it was so loud.

Which song do you secretly wish would get more love from fans?

Josh: “Touch me” it’s so beautiful! Why don’t more people love it it’s so angelic!

Is there a song you’ve written that still feels unfinished, even after performing it live?

Andrea: “Momento,” I’d probably add another section and definitely more vocal layering if I could.

Which track took the longest to nail in the studio?

Andrea: “Science Fiction,” mainly because we were sitting on it the longest.

If one of your songs were a movie scene, which one would it be?

Andrea: A few could fall into this, but as of late, “Demonology” feels and sounds SO cinematic to me. There are quite a few movie scenes where I feel it would work, could be a psychological horror film or something a bit more dramatic with a touch of surrealism.

Which song is the easiest to get stuck in your own head?

Josh: “WANTO” but the bossa nova version we made for Instagram videos.

Which track best represents “the essence of Fake Dad” to you?

Andrea: “So Simple!” I feel like it has a bit of everything that we’re all about, or at least what we’ve been about for the past two to three years.

Which one of you is the most fearless?

Josh: Andrea. Except on airplanes.

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