From hushed folk confessions to explosive indie rock reveries, Brooklyn band Volena make a fearless entrance on their self-titled debut – a bold, beautifully raw coming-of-age journey of queer identity, heartbreak, healing, and self-discovery. Frontperson Maddie Grandusky-Howe dives into the heart, history, and meaning of the EP – unpacking each track, the project’s poignant origins, the power behind the name Volena, and the family that brought these songs to life.

Stream: “Song About Winter” – Volena

I spent the making of ‘Volena’ in my early twenties, failing a lot, and learning so much along the way about myself and the person I’d like to be.

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There’s a raw, radiant power to Volena – one that doesn’t shout, but steadily burns.

A record of reckoning, reflection, and re-emergence, Volena’s self-titled debut EP contains multitudes. It’s the sound of survival – of holding your pain up to the light and letting it bloom into something beautifully whole. Across six songs, the New York City-based five-piece offer a diaristic portrait of growth in motion: Of questioning your identity, stepping into new skin, and reclaiming your power. Of navigating heartbreak, healing, queerness, and the uncertain terrain of your early twenties.

A soft folk confessional gives way to a lilting indie rock reverie, which in turn gives way to a full-blown alt-rock fever dream. And yet, the throughline is undeniable: These are the stories of a self in transformation. Volena is a reckoning and a release – a brave, unfiltered, and fiercely vulnerable coming-of-age.

And a truly stirring introduction.

There’s a man outside my front door
In a chair every evening
He likes to smoke a cigarette
And always says hello
I like that he’s consistent
And doesn’t fear commitment
And pending my monogamy
That’s how I’d like to go

I’d rather die in Brooklyn than
Spend a day in Texas
I’d rather call my mother
Than visit her at home
I prefer my skylight
The dust under my table
And nothing is more stable
Than a man who sits alone

– “Song About Winter,” Volena

Released April 4^th, 2025 via Nothing to Exist, Volena is a powerhouse of sound and feeling alike – and a long time coming. Spearheaded by singer/songwriter Maddie Grandusky-Howe, Volena began as a personal lifeline – a means of survival, songwriting, and self-discovery – and evolved over the course of several years, through both personal upheaval and creative rebirth.

“While I’ve been singing and writing songs for as long as I can remember, this became a lifeline after coming out as queer during my junior year of college,” they tell Atwood Magazine. “I was living in Brooklyn and started performing at queer songwriting showcases, house shows, and open mics with just me and a guitar. Less than a year later I entered an emotionally abusive partnership with someone much older than I was, and making art fell by the wayside. I wiped my entire recorded catalog from the internet. I stopped playing shows. I was lost. The pandemic only amplified my feelings of isolation, confusion, and dissociation.”

“Fast-forward three and a half years: I got out of my engagement with that abusive partner. Billy and I were always friends (Laura is my best friend from college) and we had jammed years before. In the wake of everything going on, he reached out asking if I’d ever want to hang out and if I’d been writing. We started tinkering with my songs together and it became clear that something was emerging. Soon after I was connected to our producer Griffin, and our bass player Ross through the music scene here. Finally, my favorite power siblings John and Laura Supnik joined to build arrangements for a studio session. We planned to track maybe 2 or 3 songs but ended up finishing 5 in one session at Figure 8, and spent the rest of 2024 finishing the EP.”

“It’s cheesy, but I’ve grown up in and with these songs,” Grandusky-Howe adds. “It’s like writing a letter to the eight-year-old version of me who made their cousins perform original songs with them in a band every year, and also to that twenty-two-year-old version of me who just knew they loved writing songs and didn’t overthink the rest so much. I spent the making of Volena in my early twenties, failing a lot, and learning so much along the way about myself and the person I’d like to be.”

While Volena may have started as a solo project, it quickly blossomed into something far greater – a full five-piece band endeavor rooted in friendship, trust, and creative kinship.

As they mentioned, Grandusky-Howe is joined by guitarists Billy Gartrell and Laura Supnik, bassist Ross Langdon Page, and drummer John Supnik. What began as a few collaborative jam sessions gradually evolved into a fully-formed sonic world – one built around shared language, lived experience, and a collective desire to bring these intimate stories to life.

The result is an EP that feels as intentional as it does instinctive. Volena’s five members gel naturally in the studio, their connection palpable in every harmony, every instrumental break, every swell and sigh. And yet behind that cohesion lies a great deal of thought, care, and preparation.

“It was very important to me to invest time and energy into figuring out what these songs wanted to sound like before going into the studio,” Grandusky-Howe explains. “At the time we were tracking, I was working a full-time corporate job and DJing on the weekends to save up to make the record. This was my first experience with studio recording and I wanted to allocate as many accessible resources as I could to the project. Working at Figure 8 was an absolute dream, and the environment allowed us to be efficient in our process.”

“We were a ‘baby band’ when we went into the studio but we all just gelled together right away. It was so easy and natural to build the world and sound of this record with what felt like family being in the room with me.”

“I put a lot of pressure on myself, so one thing that changed was needing to learn to let that go. My anxiety and perfectionism threatened to take over many times during this process, but now, I’m getting used to accepting that the small flaws are what makes our music more unique. Did I agonize over some of the final vocal takes we chose? Of course! But they were also recorded live in one take, and I’m proud that this will forever capture that experience and moments in real-time.”

“In all, we took our time growing these songs and didn’t rush any part of the process, so I felt like I learned so much about recording and letting a song grow into what it wants to be.”

Grandusky-Howe affectionately describes the Volena EP as witchy, yearning, expansive – three words that speak not only to the record’s sound, but also to its spirit.

There’s magic in these songs, and not just in the way they shimmer sonically: It’s in the act of naming your pain and still choosing softness. In finding space for wonder, even in the aftermath of heartbreak. And in the way Volena turn inner chaos into clarity, crafting sonic spells that ache, howl, and ultimately heal.

Even the EP’s title carries deep personal resonance. Volena isn’t just a band name or an alter ego – it’s a tribute, a legacy, and a reclaiming of identity. As Grandusky-Howe explains, Volena itself is a family name. “I grew up in a pretty nontraditional family — my parents are young and didn’t marry each other, so I spent a lot of time with my grandparents as a kid,” they share. “Volena is my grandmother’s name, and also her grandmother’s name. It’s Frisian. She was a huge supporter of my music and art as a kid and I’m the person I am today because of her. As a genderfluid person, I love that it’s a name that feels both feminine and powerful while still a little vague.”

“In writing all this out, I just discovered the English translation is ‘free spirit’ and also ‘love,’ which feels ironic considering the project and EP were born in the wake of leaving an awful relationship. I did ask Volena herself if I could use her name, and luckily she’s pretty into it.”

Highlights abound on the journey from the lush, achingly reflective folk-laced opener “Song About Winter” to the gut-wrenching, hauntingly beautiful piano ballad “Dog Wedding.”

The EP begins in a state of delicate unraveling: Acoustic strums and hushed vocals set the tone as Grandusky-Howe sifts through the wreckage of a past life and a fractured self. There’s grief here, but also grace – and a palpable sense of quiet survival. “Song About Winter” feels like the morning after the storm: Raw, bruised, and trying to remember how to breathe again. By the time the record closes on “Dog Wedding,” Volena have reshaped that pain into something cinematic and surreal – a ghostly slow-burn that blurs memory and metaphor, reality and ritual. Anchored by a stirring string arrangement and a deeply emotive performance, it’s one of the EP’s most vulnerable moments – and one of its finest.

In between, Volena proves just how dynamic this band can be. “Shipwreck” is a breezy indie rock daydream laced with danger and desire – the sound of leaning into something you know might break you, just to feel alive. It’s sweet, cinematic, and bittersweet all at once, its pedal steel flourishes and warm textures undercut by lyrics that ache with consequence. “Renovations” is a standout not only for its lyrical clarity – comparing a crumbling relationship to a home built on faulty foundation – but also for its sheer sonic force: The song rises and roars with cathartic intensity, culminating in a climactic guitar solo that practically rips through the speakers. “Groceries,” a brooding, beautiful meditation on first love, captures the weight of something as simple as a childhood crush with unflinching honesty and emotional finesse. Then there’s “Summer of Roses,” a feral fever dream of pride and power: Bold, bruised, and beaming, it’s a stunning show of strength in the face of uncertainty, balancing personal reflection with pulsing collective energy.

Across its six tracks, Volena stuns in its scope and execution – not because it tries to be everything at once, but because it never holds back. Each song is its own world, and yet they fit together like pieces of a larger, tangled puzzle. From folk to rock to chamber pop and beyond, the band stretch their wings without ever losing their grounding – always anchored in storytelling, intimacy, and truth.

For Grandusky-Howe, Volena is both a starting point and a self-portrait – a foundation upon which to build, and a reflection of where they’ve been.

“This EP represents my journey to find my voice as an artist,” they share. “I do feel like these songs are only the beginning of what I’d like to make, and that the different arrangements represent the wingspan I’d like to have as both a performer and lyricist. I answered to no one but myself so I told myself yes: hire the string players! Keep the crazy instrumental break! I was influenced heavily by artists I grew up with like Death Cab for Cutie, Alabama Shakes, Sheryl Crow, Brandi Carlile, Ingrid Michelson, Angel Olsen…”

“I hope that this EP is just the start of us as a band developing our sound without limitations.”

As for their own favorite moments and personal highlights from the EP, Grandusky-Howe says there are plenty to choose from.

“‘Dog Wedding’ was recorded in just a few live takes,” Grandusky-Howe recalls. “Hiring strings for ‘Dog Wedding’ felt like a crazy idea at the moment, but having an actual ‘wedding quartet’ play on the song felt like it served the story. Sammy Weissberg did the arrangement, and I was absolutely blown away by the players.

“Billy’s guitar solo in ‘Renovations’ rips every time,” they add. “That’s one of my oldest songs and I’m obsessed with what we did with it. That, and the pedal steel in ‘Shipwreck.’ So lovely!”

Lyrically, Volena hits just as hard. “I love your body the way you envision, one good decision away from the start,” Grandusky-Howe quotes, before pointing to another favorite from “Summer of Roses”: “Rosary hangs from their mom’s review / We watch the sunset through the haze / Subaru slingshot down the highway / Our joy thicker than fog.”

“The first lines of ‘Summer of Roses’ describe how changing your body as a nonbinary person can bring so much power,” they explain, “and then the beginning of verse two is about a Pride weekend celebration amidst wildfire smoke engulfing the New York skyline as queers piled into their cars after a day at the beach. Despite the song’s exploration of anxious thought patterns, finding myself in these queer spaces made so much of this EP possible.”

And of course, there’s the line that might best sum up their devotion to their adopted hometown: “‘I’d rather die in Brooklyn than spend a day in Texas.’ No shade to my Texas family and fans – I’ve had awesome days in Austin and Houston! – but I love New York so much, it’s silly!”

At its core, Volena is a testament to trusting your voice – even when it shakes.

It’s an EP born from uncertainty and self-doubt, but forged through collaboration, community, and deep creative conviction. For Grandusky-Howe, the process of making this record was just as transformative as the music itself.

“Imposter’s syndrome followed me even after my breakup and made it hard for me to feel like my creative voice mattered. I had to learn to trust myself to push myself to this point. I hope that listeners are inspired to trust their intuition,” they smile.

“With that being said: It’s okay to realize you’re not the best at everything and ask for help. I learned so much about the production of music because, during this experience, I surrounded myself with experts. It was really rewarding to collaborate with the band and other players to create the sound of this EP. As a band, we’re also all involved in the creative release, too. Ross helped me make the video for ‘Summer of Roses’! Laura made the merch and single artwork! It really is a family affair. Regardless of what’s next, I’m happy that this is my first set of songs out into the world and I am thrilled with how it’s connected me to a new music community in New York and beyond. It’s wild, surreal, and truly magical.”

A striking introduction and a stirring statement of self, Volena is as emotionally resonant as it is musically bold – a fearless, unapologetically raw, and deeply human debut. These songs don’t just tell a story; they invite you to join Volena on their journey, and live inside their world. Experience the full record via our below stream, and peek inside Volena’s Volena EP with Atwood Magazine as Maddie Grandusky-Howe takes us track-by-track through the music and lyrics of their band’s self-titled debut!

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:: stream/purchase Volena here ::

:: connect with Volena here ::

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Stream: ‘Volena’ – Volena

:: Inside Volena ::

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Song About Winter

For an EP developed in the aftermath of a breakup, “Song About Winter” is the only true exploration of a time post-heartbreak. It chronicles the early days I spent living in a new apartment after my engagement fell apart and processing what I was experiencing during that time. I was self-isolating and coping in some unhealthy ways, but I was also learning very slowly how to listen to myself again.

Shipwreck

“Shipwreck” is a song about giving in to a feeling even when you know that your actions might have negative consequences. If it feels good, how bad could it be? I jokingly wrote this as an attempt at a “pop song” but I love its blind optimism and that it’s unapologetic anthem-y.

Renovations

“Renovations” is about the push and pull of an emotionally abusive relationship dynamic and that constant cycle of loving and discomfort that I’ve experienced at different points in my life. It’s an obvious metaphor, but one of my favorites: you can’t build a life on something that lacks trust and respect, and once you realize it, it’s time to move on. My father is really handy and spent much of my childhood renovating a house, so I’ve always had a penchant for DIY home projects. I also really do dream of a big fridge full of food.

Groceries

I wrote “Groceries” about the first girl I ever had a crush on 🙂 sometimes the simplest things are the most beautiful. This song is so unflinchingly honest. It’s stood the test of time, and I wanted the simple, slow arrangement to honor the lyrics.

Summer of Roses

This song tells the story of a Pride weekend during a time when the wildfire smoke was awful all through the Northeast. A relationship of mine had ended and another began in rapid succession. I write sometimes to process environmental shifts around me, and it felt like the uncertainty of these romantic encounters was adding to the crazy haze we all were experiencing.

Dog Wedding

One night, I couldn’t sleep and was up doomscrolling and I came across this VHS tape of two dogs getting married; I performed a similar wedding as a kid and it brought that childhood memory to the surface. The lyrics came together very quickly to tell this raw love story that could also be a ghost story.

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:: stream/purchase Volena here ::

:: connect with Volena here ::

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 © Julia Durr

Volena

an EP by Volena