"It was all about taking risks and trusting myself," says Chrissy Costanza, who releases her debut solo EP today. For the people who know her as the commanding frontperson in pop-rockers Against The Current or as the voice behind League Of Legends' breakout anthem 'Legends Never Die', there's plenty of uplifting, empowering, guitar-driven goodness on the seven-track record. But there are also a lot of surprises as well. "There's nothing to gain from playing it safe."

Chrissy joined Against The Current when she was 15. Before that, she'd written a handful of "terrible" songs that were never recorded, let alone released, but everything else has been created alongside bandmates Dan Gow and Will Ferri. "It got to the point where I felt like there were some things I wanted to experiment with that wouldn't fit within the world we'd built together," she explains.

Around the same time, she fell in love with alt-rock duo VOILÀ and found a gap between world tours to get in the studio to write 'Caught It' with the pair. The dreamy track was released as part of their album 'Glass Half Empty (Part 1)', but Chrissy knew she wanted to work with Luke Eisner and Gus Ross on whatever it was she was making, with the pair going on to co-write and produce 'VII'.

The first Chrissy track created was lead single '7 Minutes In Hell'. "I knew exactly what I wanted with that one," she says. "I wanted something dark with orchestral elements. I wanted it to not feel like a massive departure from things I had done before." But after that, Chrissy just started writing, and whatever happened, happened. "I had a million and a half inspirations that I wanted to explore, but when it came to actually getting into the studio, all of that went out the window," she says, with the EP capturing whatever felt right on the day.

"There are expectations around whatever we do with Against The Current," says Chrissy, but for her solo project, nothing was off the table. "It was really liberating."

"I've always been very dependent on other people for validation, and I've had a really hard time trusting my own instincts," Chrissy says. "When it came to doing this EP, I did wonder if I was good enough to do this without the band. I didn't know if anyone would care, and there was a very real chance the whole thing would be a disaster… but what if it's awesome?"

That newfound ambition and hope drove the project forward, and that attitude can be felt across 'VII' ’s swaggering opening track 'But, What If I Fly', which pulls influence from the Greek myth of Icarus. "We remember him for the fall, but what if we celebrated his flight?" asks Chrissy.

Unlike a lot of band-gone-solo projects, the entirety of 'VII' leans big and bombastic rather than stripped down. "I love songwriting and lyrics, and as much as I am a musician, I also really identify with the title 'frontwoman'," says Chrissy, backstage before a show in Cambridge, Massachusetts. "I thrive onstage. I love to entertain, so doing a stripped-down acoustic songwriter thing was never going to happen."

'VII' feels like a cohesive world rather than a playlist of different ideas. "That was so important to me," says Chrissy. "Even if a song was amazing, it needed to make sense." It's not a concept record, "but I wanted all the songs to feel like they could be part of the same story."

"I wanted it to be a little bit extra," Chrissy continues, with the entire project inspired by dark, fantastical worlds. Across the record, there are nods to angels and demons, heaven and hell. '7 Minutes In Hell' references the Garden of Eden and forbidden fruit, while unreleased track 'What If Sin Could Save Me' pulls from legends of the Greek underworld. "It's why I couldn't do this with Against The Current. The band's aesthetic is leather and combat boots, while this is dark demon wings and flowy white skirts."

The ferocious 'Pick Your Poison' is probably the heaviest track Chrissy's been involved with. "It's about a do-or-die moment and asking someone if they're just going to lay down and take whatever's about to happen, or are they going to stand up and confront it?" she explains.

And then, at the other end of things, is 'You'd Be Right', which is as poppy and polished as Chrissy has ever gone. "I remember the first time Blackpink played Coachella, and they had a live band, which gave their K-pop a real rock edge, which I thought was just so cool," says Chrissy. Live, that's where she takes 'You'd Be Right', but for the record, she let it be a pure pop banger.

"It's the song I'm most worried about sharing," she admits. "With songs like '7 Minutes In Hell', I knew no one would really have an issue with it if they like the things I've done before. With 'You'd Be Right', I honestly have no idea how people are going to feel about it. It's a real wildcard." The song is a little bit sarcastic and a little bit mean, says Chrissy. "It's getting in the face of someone who fumbled you. If you think I'm better off now, you'd be right."

"It's been nice trying some new things," she explains. A lot of Against The Current songs are written about Chrissy's experiences, but she also has to be mindful that she's the voice of a band, so everything needs to resonate with them. "For this record, it was nice to write from a very female perspective without having to worry about what anyone else would think." Songs like 'If Looks Could Kill' and 'Some Like It Hot' see Chrissy wearing her heart on her sleeve. "I was feeling something really dramatic, over-the-top, and intense, but I'm not downplaying that."

The whole thing is being supported by the Spin The Bottle tour, which sees Chrissy and VOILÀ joining forces for a shared two-hour set. They're currently touring North America before a UK and European tour next month. "It's just a big freaking party," says Chrissy. Fans are encouraged to dress up as pirates, fallen angels, and vampires. There's a gameshow-style wheel to decide parts of the setlist, and both bands jump on each other's tracks. "It's different, but the vibe is so fun."

That seems to be the driving force behind everything Chrissy has been doing of late. As well as her own solo project, she's collabed with Yellowcard on their cover of 'A Whole New World' from Disney's Aladdin and provided vocals for Final Fantasy 16 anthem 'Give It All'.

Later this month, she'll reunite with Against The Current to play their breakout 'Gravity' EP in full at When We Were Young Festival. "I'm pumped because I still love every single song on that record, but I also just get to watch a lot of amazing bands," she says. When We Were Young is a celebration of all things emo and pop-punk, and on the Spin The Bottle tour, Chrissy has been covering Jimmy Eat World's 'The Middle' and Paramore's 'Misery Business'. Is it a hint of where Against The Current will go next?

"We have roots in emo, but I never saw Against The Current as a pop-punk band," says Chrissy. "We've been levelling up a lot recently. Our last headline tour was the biggest we've ever done, and I just want to write big fucking rock songs that are going to feel really good in those huge venues." The trio are still figuring out the timeline for ATC3, but it's definitely on the cards.

Still, Chrissy hopes the release of 'VII' is the start of something. She's already got more songs written and has been playing two of them on tour. One of them, 'Perfect Crime', is quickly becoming a fan-favourite. "Everyone's asking for it, so I'm going to try and get it out before the UK leg of the tour," says Chrissy, embracing the freedom of being an independent artist. "A second record will be fun. There's already such a mix of vibes on 'VII' that I could go in so many different directions in the future."

Hours before the launch of 'VII', and Chrissy is feeling surprisingly calm. "The only thing I had to prove was just proving to myself that I could do this," she says. The EP has been a team effort, but Chrissy's been behind each and every decision. "I wanted to prove I could stand on my own two feet. The whole project was about me betting on myself," says Chrissy, who hopes it inspires others to do the same. "Take risks, trust yourself."