Pretty Cryers is a Queer Fronted Band to Look Out For

New York-based femme punk rock band Pretty Cryers released their self-titled EP in late August, which easily became a favorite on summer playlists.

Founded by lead singer-songwriter and multi-disciplined artist Adea Frances Guldi during the height of the pandemic in 2020, she was shortly joined by Berklee-educated bassist and composer Andraleia Buch. Together, they channel a 90s rock/punk style through a gritty modern lens, with powerful lyrics that encompass everything from queer femme anthems to unapologetic representations of trauma. They have drawn into their midst an impressive group of musical collaborators, and their fierce live shows have begun to garner them acclaim throughout the underground music scene.

Guldi took some time to talk more about Pretty Cryers and their debut project with OFM.

Congratulations on the release of your self-titled EP! How excited were you to finally release this project out into the world?

It’s been very intense because we’ve been sitting on it for about a year, and there were a lot of decisions going into when we were going to release it and when we thought the right moment was. So, it feels both really vulnerable to have it out because it was this incubating thing, and now that it’s out in the world, I’m kind of like, oh my gosh! It’s the first music I’ve ever written and the first thing I’ve ever sung on, so it’s really vulnerable, but also very exciting.

How has the album been received by listeners?

We’ve been getting a lot of exciting feedback! One of my favorite reactions was, I was fronting a hardcore project temporarily this year while they were kind of transitioning onto a new vocalist, and the drummer from that project sends me a video message screaming, “Oh my God! This is so awesome!” Just screaming at me in joy, and it’s been a lot of that. It’s been really nice to hear that my friends are putting it on at their jobs. They’re excited to hear it, replaying it for other people, and sending me videos of their co-workers singing along to the lyrics that I wrote. I’m humbled that people love it so much.

Can you tell us more about the EP’s overall concept and inspiration?

Andraleia and I started working together, I want to say in 2020, and we have a collection now of about 50 songs. These are just things that we’ve been working on and writing together, and these four songs on the EP in particular, I feel like they encompass the range of the things that we write about. Both topically and sonically.

You have “Run Rampant,” which is like your really intense rock songs with the ballads and yelling. You have “Too Pretty for Him,” which has this hooky, pop thing going on. “Mouthful” is very melodramatic, more inspired by Midwestern rock, and then “I Need My Girl” is the love song.

Since this is your debut project, what have you learned from the experience?

That I don’t know anything about this world (laughs). Everything is new to me. There was a point in time where I went to Nepal for a little bit and I was studying the language there, and I remember my first day in a Nepali kitchen. I’m standing there with a knife, and the woman who graciously let me stay in her house, she starts freaking out and yelling at me. Trying to communicate some warning about me holding a knife. I had no idea what was happening, so I kind of feel like that again, but all the time. I’m just the idiot child holding a knife, but it’s also delightful because I’m learning everything!

Ultimately, what do you hope audiences take away from your music?

I hope people feel the ability to be vulnerable and honest with themselves, as well as take chances. I know that being vulnerable and authentic in the world is something that can be scary, but it’s worth it.

Pretty Cryers is considered a femme punk rock band. How would you say you’re different and stand out from other artists and bands who do similar types of music?

Honestly, I don’t think we particularly stand out. I think having femme queer led bands is important and having as much of us as possible is important. I don’t know if we do anything that’s particularly unique, but I feel inspired by the people in my community, and I think we’re all doing cool things.

Have you and Andraleia always had a passion for singing, songwriting, and performing?

Andraleia is a Berkeley-educated bassist who has 20 years of professional touring and musicality under her fingers. So, she is truly a professional badass. I don’t know how I got so lucky to work with her. She’s been working on composing all that stuff, and then my musical journey started kind of recently during the pandemic. I realized that singing helped my panic attacks. I was learning to play guitar, and singing along was helping my anxiety and mental health.

Fast forward a little bit, Andraleia and I meet; she starts hearing the things that I’ve been writing, and she gets really excited about it. She gets excited about my voice and my songwriting, and we had an intense connection musically. I feel like she was able to understand the language that I was speaking in through music and we were able to co-create this very intense music together. Usually, I’ll bring her my very basic song, like the progression, idea, emotion, and lyrics, and she takes it and turns it into magic.

How did you two exactly meet?

I met her in a bar (laughs). She was playing a show, and then she sat in with some musicians she had never heard play before. When you’re like the only two queer people in a bar, you’re like, what’s up? So, that’s how we met, and we’ve been thick as thieves ever since.

What’s the meaning behind the name Pretty Cryers?

When I was a child, I decided that I was an ugly crier. I must have been, like, 8 years old, a ridiculously young age to decide this, and I decided that I wanted to learn how to cry in a pretty way. So, anytime that I would cry, I would go into a mirror and stare at myself. I would train the muscles in my face to learn how to cry pretty, and afterwards when I was in graduate school doing feminist and queer studies, I learned that I was internalizing that the most important thing that I could offer as a woman was beauty, and that I had to preserve that even in my emotional rawness. So, Pretty Cryers is kind of like this oxymoron of preserving feminine beauty through emotional intensity and the facade there.

What are some future goals you hope Pretty Cryers accomplishes?

I’d like to take it as far as I can possibly go. We’re looking at touring, and we’re having some conversations with various labels. I am definitely interested in getting signed. We have probably two albums worth of music that we’re just sitting on right now, and even though that may be, we’re going to write more music and keep going for as long as we can.

Before we wrap up, are there any other upcoming projects or anything else you would like to mention or plug?

I would love to mention Andraleia’s project that she curates. It’s called Empathology, and it’s super excellent. It’s a weekly thing that she streams online, 100 percent original music every Sunday. Also, our drummer, Billy Rymer, has an amazing band called Thoughtcrimes. They recently released their debut album, and it’s amazing, so definitely check out those people. Destroy Boys is another queer fronted band that’s killing it. I want to talk for hours about the musicians in this community. I feel like I’m surrounded by brilliance, so I’m super humbled to be part of this.

Stay up-to-date and connect with Pretty Cryers by following them on Facebook and Instagram @prettycryers, or visit their official website, prettycryers.com. Their self-titled EP is available on all digital streaming platforms.

Photos Courtesy of Clovis Bloom Photography