Welsh pop-punk storyteller Hannah Grae is carving out a bold, rebellious world of her own.

Words: Ali Shutler.
Photos: Lola Websiter / Megan Winstone.

"I just create weird fireworks out of a tiny feeling," says Hannah Grae. "Some of my tracks have been written from such small fragments, and then I just milk it," she adds with a grin. This approach of blowing her own diary up seems to be connecting, though.

Hannah Grae's debut EP 'Hell Is A Teenage Girl' was a snotty, revenge-fuelled drama played out over snarling guitar riffs, leading to a busy summer spent touring countless European festivals. Coming from a small Welsh town, Hannah found the whole experience "strange", but that didn't stop her from throwing her all into every set. Seeing people sing along "was kinda unbelievable," she says, while winning over new fans felt more like a game.

Playing those vulnerable songs about her less-than-ideal teenage years to crowds of strangers was "incredibly cathartic," says Hannah, who's driven by being as raw and honest as possible. "I've moved on from whatever I was feeling back then, and now I just want the audience to feel some kind of way," she says. "I want people to feel alive when they listen to my music, basically."

When she first wrote 'Hell Is A Teenage Girl', a record that doesn't shy away from being petty or pissed off, Hannah had dreams of playing London's massive O2 Arena. You can hear that ambition across the EP's nine theatrical tracks that channel the likes of My Chemical Romance and Olivia Rodrigo, but at the time, Hannah had never performed live. Sure, she had a blossoming following on TikTok and YouTube that she engaged with regularly, but finally getting able to play gigs changed almost everything for her. "Seeing five people on the front row give it their all is incredible," says Hannah. "It's more than enough for now," she adds, those arena dreams postponed rather than cancelled.

There's a new project on the way as well. Launched with 'Screw Loose' back in August, Hannah has since released 'Could Have Been You' and 'Who Dunnit?'. "It's all very fearless," says Hannah, who has had the whole thing figured out for a hot minute now. "If I write a song that I'm not excited by two weeks later, it's going in the bin 'cos it's clearly not right," she explains. "All of the tracks for this next project form a world that I'm really proud of."

It wasn't an easy process, though. "'Hell Is A Teenage Girl' was fueled by anger and pettiness. I was scared I didn't have that for my second project, but I clearly needed music," she explains. Written before she was signed to Atlantic Records, Hannah says there was "no pressure" when it came to her upcoming record, but being able to create songs that felt confident and badass helped her feel like "she had something to offer" after moving to London to chase her dreams. "I wasn't in a good place," she admits.

Rather than dwell in the fear and frustration, Hannah came out swinging. Recent single 'Who Dunnit?' hits back at expectations over music inspired by Queen and Blondie's 'Heart Of Glass'. "People don't really take you seriously if you're 5ft and a babyface," Hannah says. "It's smug but also angry." There's an unreleased track that's "huge and devastating", while 'It Could've Been You' is full of deliberate hope. "I wanted a song that actually felt glad," says Hannah. "It's the only one on the record that isn't laced with regret. It's a breakup song, and I still sound slightly pissed off, but I'm also aware of the brat I was and the things I did wrong. And it was a great relationship," she adds. "Considering where my head was at, I needed to write something hopeful just to feel good." Released at the end of September, 'It Could've Been You' has already become Hannah's most-streamed song. "I think people like the hope rather than the regret," she says.

She's already drawing up plans for what comes after that second project as well. "I've barely scratched the surface, but the vision right now is that I want it to be more fun and playful because I'm in such a great place right now. I want it to radiate that comfort," she says. "I've thought a lot about who I am, and I really like exploring those growing pains. Right now, I'm excited about the future. I'm not dreading it."

The community that's connected with Hannah's music has helped with that. "Releasing music rarely feels tangible," she explains. "A lot of the time, it feels like I'm just playing pretend. I release these silly songs, and I can see people listening, but it's just numbers on a screen. When you play a show, you realise how real it all is. That's when it hits you, and I want to chase that connection forever."

"2021 is when I started writing music, and it felt like a whirlwind. 2022 was the same. This year, it's felt believable," says Hannah. "I've always had a strange feeling about 2024, though. Even when I was a kid, I felt like something big was going to happen. I'm excited to see what that is."

Bring on the fireworks.

Taken from the December 2023 / January 2024 issue of Dork.