Isla June’s Jenna Maranga has never wanted to be pinned down. “Songwriting is having the freedom to be fluid and explore,” they say, and genre is more a buffet of options than a structure to fit inside. This sense of infinite possibility is at the forefront of their music, in the flit of the summery backbeats, the pulse of saturated guitars, the shimmer of synths, the grit and power of their vocals soaring through the topline. All of this conjures the feeling of flying down the LA freeways of Maranga’s childhood — a little bit carefree, a little bit angsty about the things that slow you down.
This is grunge-tinged pop for people who grew up screaming along to emo bands in church basements, for the hot weirdos everyone was afraid to admit they had a crush on in high school. Their music is a rallying cry for self-acceptance, a universal invitation to join them in the pit.
As an artist and songwriter, their music has been widely featured on television, serving as a sonic backdrop to shows like Riverdale, The L Word: Generation Q, Grey’s Anatomy, and Selling Sunset, as well as national ad campaigns for AT&T, Old Navy, and more.