According to Wikipedia, imposter syndrome “is a psychological experience in which a person suffers from feelings of intellectual and/or professional fraudulence.” Many people experience it at some point, be it in business or the arts, even a relationship—they feel unworthy, essentially. Canadian multidisciplinary artist Teagan Johnston, for instance, first experienced the nagging self-doubt a decade ago.
In the press release for the single, she explains, “I first came up with the lyric ‘Neon Schoolgirl’ back in 2016 while watching Lucy Dacus open up for Car Seat Headrest at the Mod Club. Lucy and her band had invited me to the show as we had recently played together, and I was signing to her label at that time…then while watching the Car Seat Headrest set with her band, drenched in the neon stage lights, I felt an overwhelming sense of naivety and the feeling of ‘do I really belong here?’, a sort of imposter syndrome that has plagued me for much of my career. It wasn’t just that I was watching the show but they were peers at that moment…and then in that moment I came up with a character for that feeling – a ‘neon schoolgirl,’ shiny and lit by the neon in stage lights but also feeling absolutely clueless and out of place.”
The moody tune, which blends synth pop with alt.rock, threatens to turn into a sonic tsunami as it develops—but pulls back, instead. That dissonance between what we expect and what occurs is quite cool, conjuring the days when such bands as Curve, Garbage and even Oasis graced the radio and music-video channels.
The Old Grey Cat 