Stockholm indie rock band Girl Scout reflect on kinship, gratitude, and growing into yourself through their dynamic single “Same Kids,” unpacking how nostalgia, DIY spirit, and emotional conviction collide on the road to their long-awaited debut album ‘Brink.’

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Stream: “Same Kids” – Girl Scout

I wish I had found all the same kids in my town, in a place where nothing ever felt like home. We’re the same kids to the bone, but I’m happy I have you now…

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Some songs hit hard because of their punch; others land because of the stories they carry.

“Same Kids” does both at once, delivering a sharp, buoyant indie rock rush where energy and emotion move in perfect sync. Girl Scout’s latest single is immediate and propulsive, but there’s a tenderness threaded through it too, a wistful undercurrent that gives the song its staying power. The Swedish band know exactly when to let the guitars surge and when to let the feeling sit, and that balance is what makes “Same Kids” feel so special.

A longtime Atwood Magazine artist to watch, Girl Scout have been on our radar ever since their debut single “Do You Remember Sally Moore?” first landed back in 2022, and every release since has only deepened that connection. Across three EPs, each featured on our pages in one form or another, the Stockholm-based indie rockers – today comprised of Emma Jansson (guitar, vocals), Per Lindberg (drums), Kevin Hamring (guitar/bass) – have honed a sound that is punchy, nostalgic, and emotionally generous. “Same Kids,” the lead single off their long-awaited debut album Brink (out March 20th), feels like both a culmination and a new beginning – a song that carries their signature charm while opening the door to something bigger.

Formed by a group of longtime collaborators and self-described music nerds, Girl Scout have always taken a hands-on approach to their craft. “We’re really just a group of music nerds from Sweden,” the band share. “We write, record, and produce everything ourselves; there’s no laptop on stage or anything. It’s your average, classic 90s-influenced band really. We’d just love for you to listen to the music and see what you think!” That DIY spirit gives their songs a lived-in warmth – nothing overworked, nothing overly precious – just melody, momentum, and feeling.

At its core, “Same Kids” is about kinship – the rare, grounding experience of finding people who feel instantly familiar. “It’s about kinship; discovering twin souls every once in a while,” they explain. “Meeting people you might as well could’ve grown up together because of how similar you are. People you can share stupid niche references with.” The song imagines an alternate childhood shaped by those connections, filled with what-ifs and quiet gratitude for the people who eventually arrive.

I wish I had found
All the same kids
In my town
In a place where nothing ever felt like home
We’re the same kids
To the bone
But I’m happy I have you now

Cut the fake shit
Til we’re grown
Playing records we were always in the zone
We can make it on our own

Those lines land with a bittersweet ache – not regret exactly, but a gentle mourning for the time before you knew where you belonged. And yet, “Same Kids” never wallows. Its driving rhythm and bright melodic hooks keep it moving forward, mirroring the realization that while you can’t rewrite the past, you can still be thankful for who’s here now.

Remember the time
In your basement, we got high
We were one and we could read each other’s minds
And your thoughts they came alive
There are times when I still hear them now

In the break room
On the bus
When the neighbor that I hate is coming up
When we’re too loud
Lock the door
Oh to be young and to be bored

The chorus of “Same Kids” hits like a rush of clarity – loud, wholehearted, and deeply felt. As Girl Scout lock in, their big crescendo lands as a declaration of absolute loyalty, the kind you don’t negotiate or overthink. There’s no irony here, no distance – just conviction, shouted from the chest. It’s the song’s emotional release valve, where nostalgia turns into commitment and memory hardens into something you’re willing to stand behind, no matter what.

You can call
You can call in a minute
If you’re there
If you’re in it then I’m in it
Give it up now
Cause I’d gladly take the bullet
If you go, I go, forever
The same kids

That sense of reflection carries through to Brink, a record years in the making – and one the band describe as “thirteen tracks caught between apocalyptic anxiety and wistful escapism.”

After releasing multiple EPs, Girl Scout saw their debut album as a chance to let their music breathe. “I think we got the chance to really think about which direction we wanted to go through making so many EPs,” they say. “It captures a greater range sonically; it’s calmer, more somber and more chaotic than our earlier stuff. There’s an intro and an outro to the record. That’s the beauty of an album; the music has more room to breathe and take its time.”

This open-mindedness carried into the making of Brink itself. For their first full-length, Girl Scout stepped into a new collaborative chapter, working with producer Alex Farrar – known for his work with bands like Wednesday and Snail Mail – to help shape the album’s broader emotional and sonic scope. After years of momentum, including a buzzed-about tour alongside Alvvays and mounting international attention, Brink feels like a natural deepening rather than a departure; a record that lets Girl Scout’s guitar-driven indie rock refract and evolve from song to song, each track revealing a slightly different shade of who they are becoming

As the album’s lead single, “Same Kids” serves as a gentle entry point into that world. “There’s a lot of wistfulness in the album, and ‘Same Kids’ feels very nostalgic,” the band share. “It felt like a good introduction to the record.” It introduces Brink not through bombast, but through feeling – an emotional thesis statement about connection, memory, and the people who help us better understand ourselves.

When we toed the line
Took the shortcuts
Did the time
Ran in circles that were faulty by design
It was thoughtless, it was fine
It was nothing in a sliver of a life

All the breakdowns
All the fuss
Getting lost in all the details was enough
And it hurts now like before
If we’re not getting better we learn to take more

Ultimately, this song is an expression of gratitude – something the band don’t take lightly. “I hope whoever’s listening has someone in their life they think about when they hear it,” Emma Jansson says. “It was very uplifting making a song about gratitude; I generally find it hard to write happy songs. It kind of turned into an anthem for our band while we were recording it – we definitely have that very special kind of kinship the song centers around.”

Over the past few years, watching Girl Scout grow has felt less like tracking a band’s rise and more like witnessing a steady unfolding. From the sharp immediacy of Real Life Human Garbage to the restless charm of Granny Music and the emotional tightening of Headache, each release – and every passing year – has captured a band refining not just their sound, but their sense of self. We’ve followed them closely through each of those chapters here at Atwood, returning to their music again and again because it kept meeting us with the same rare mix of honesty, momentum, and heart. “Same Kids” doesn’t abandon that lineage; it clarifies it, pulling the emotional throughline of those EPs into sharper focus.

There’s an undeniable confidence to this moment, rooted in how fully and unapologetically Girl Scout inhabit who they are now. “Same Kids” carries the urgency and melodic punch that first drew us in, but it’s tempered by perspective – a song written by people who’ve lived together in the music long enough to trust it. It feels like the start of a new era not because it’s louder or bigger, but because it’s more assured. The band know where they’ve been, clear-eyed about where they are, and open to where they’re going next – setting the stage for what feels like an especially exciting year ahead.

What makes “Same Kids” feel especially resonant right now is how gently it resists nostalgia’s usual trap. Rather than longing for the past or mythologizing what’s already gone, the song treats memory as something you carry forward – not a place you retreat to. At a moment when so much music is preoccupied with irony, distance, or retro reenactment, Girl Scout offer something quieter and more grounding: A song that acknowledges what was, but chooses to stand firmly in what is. The gratitude here isn’t backward-looking; it’s active, present-tense, and alive – a reminder that connection doesn’t lose its power just because time has passed.

Bright, driving, and emotionally locked-in, “Same Kids” sounds like a bond that’s been tested, kept, and chosen again. It’s the sound of shared jokes, shared memories, and shared time – the kind of song that makes you think of the people who’ve stuck around, the ones you’d gladly take the bullet for. As the first glimpse of Brink, it’s a bold, beautiful, bracing reminder of why Girl Scout have remained such a special band to follow: They write songs that move, that mean something, and that make room for all of us who are still figuring out where we belong. Those ideas come into sharper focus in conversation, as Girl Scout open up about the relationships behind “Same Kids,” the making of their debut album, and the trust that’s held them together over time. Read our interview, and stay tuned for more to come as Girl Scout continue to tease Brink, set to release this March!

You can call
You can call in a minute
If you’re there
If you’re in it then I’m in it
Give it up now
And I’d gladly take the bullet
If you go, I go, forever
The same kids

If you go, I go, forever…
If you go, I go, forever…
The same kids

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:: read more on Girl Scout here ::

:: stream/purchase Same Kids here ::

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Stream: “Same Kids” – Girl Scout

A CONVERSATION WITH GIRL SCOUT

Girl Scout: We’re really just a group of music nerds from Sweden. We write, record, and produce everything ourselves; there’s no laptop on stage or anything. It’s your average, classic ‘90s-influenced band really. We’d just love for you to listen to the music and see what you think!

Girl Scout: It’s about kinship; discovering twin souls every once in a while. Meeting people you might as well could’ve grown up together because of how similar you are. People you can share stupid niche references with.

Girl Scout: I think we got the chance to really think about which direction we wanted to go through making so many EPs. It captures a greater range sonically, its calmer, more somber and more chaotic than our earlier stuff. There’s an intro and an outro to the record. That’s the beauty of an album; the music has more room to breathe and take its time.

Girl Scout: There’s a lot of wistfulness in the album, and “Same Kids” feels very nostalgic. It felt like a good introduction to the record.

Girl Scout: I hope whoever listening has someone in their life they think about when they hear it. It was very uplifting making a song about gratitude, I generally find it hard to write happy songs. It kind of turned into an anthem for our band while we were recording it, we definitely have that very special kind of kinship the song centers around.

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:: connect with Girl Scout here ::

:: stream/purchase Brink here ::

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Stream: “Same Kids” – Girl Scout

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 © Lamia Karic

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