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Trousdale Step Into Their Power with Sophomore Album ‘Growing Pains’

Trousdale doesn’t just sing in harmony—they live in it. The Los Angeles trio—comprised of Quinn D’Andrea, Georgia Greene, and Lauren Jones—has spent years honing a sound that blends pop, folk, and country influences with airtight vocals and raw emotional honesty. Across their visuals, they often stick to a distinct color palette that mirrors the Powerpuff Girls—one in blue, one in green, one in pink—which adds a playful, nostalgic charm to their presence that still feels fresh and exciting.

Their 2023 debut Out of My Mind introduced them as a rising force in the indie scene, earning praise for its thoughtful lyrics and lush arrangements. Now, with Growing Pains, they take things even further—digging into heartbreak, friendship, exhaustion, and evolution with their most cohesive and compelling work yet.

The album opens with the title track, a weary-yet-determined anthem about the ache of transformation. “It’s all work, and it’s no play, and there’s too many growing pains,” they sing in crisp unison over bright guitar. The music video takes place in a boxing gym, where the girls are on the cleaning crew. Eventually, they put on wraps and gloves and start training in the ring—they’re in the fight now!

That same tension—between emotional heaviness and sonic warmth—runs through the entire record. “Over and Over” takes a beachy, melancholic approach to the cycle of heartbreak. In the music video, the trio is situated in a classic suburban home, commiserating in the living room while their exes—played by each of them in disguise—parade around holding signs that say things like “I’m happier than ever” and “I’m doing better without you.” It’s a tongue-in-cheek yet emotionally resonant visual that captures the absurdity of post-breakup posturing. The song aches with repetition—“You’re breaking my heart over and over again”—but the video gives it a cheeky wink, showing how healing sometimes comes with humor.

Want Me Back” turns up the drama with gauzy synths and an ‘80s prom aesthetic. Shot with the trio singing from the top of a staircase in glamorous outfits, it’s equal parts high camp and high emotion. “Lonely Night” leans into indie rock textures, driven by a slow-burning guitar riff and a rhythm that pulses like anxiety you’ve learned to live with. The warm, dreamy visuals—dancing in dim rooms, blurred motion—emphasize the song’s in-between-ness: not quite heartbreak, not quite healing.

“Don’t Tell Me” flips the switch, with snarling guitars and a cathartic chorus about reclaiming your playlists and your peace. “Save Me”, with its funky bassline and soaring vocal runs, might be the biggest flex on the album—a confident, high-energy refusal to be anyone’s fixer.

But “Growing Pains” doesn’t just live in the big moments. Ballads like “Death Grip”, “Sleeping at the Wheel”, and “Warm Shoulder, Cold Heart” offer some of the album’s most vulnerable lyrics and most striking harmonies. “I’ve become so good at faking a smile,” they admit, voices weaving around one another like they’re holding hands in the dark. These are songs for the long exhale after a hard day, or the quiet moment when a friend tells you the truth you didn’t want to hear—but needed to.

“Secondhand Smoke” is one of the album’s more delicate moments, addressing the lingering weight of an almost-love. The lyric video, filled with projected words and grasping hands, gives visual language to the sense of trying to hold on to something that’s already gone. Then there’s “Vertigo”, an anthem for falling forward when you’re not quite sure where you’ll land. “Falling forward, straight into the vertigo,” they sing—and you believe them.

The album ends on “Last Bloom”, a piano-led closer that functions like a gentle benediction: “So what it was will grow into something new.” It’s the kind of closing track that doesn’t wrap everything up in a bow—but it doesn’t need to. Trousdale isn’t promising resolution; they’re offering honesty, and maybe a little hope.

Much of “Growing Pains” was recorded live with co-producer John Mark Nelson (known for work with Taylor Swift and Mitski), and that immediacy is felt throughout. There’s a warmth to the production that makes each track feel like a conversation in a room with friends—a little messy, a little magical, and always real.

With this album, Trousdale solidifies what their debut hinted at: they’re one of the most exciting vocal groups making music today. Their friendship is palpable in every track. Their honesty cuts deep. And their melodies? They stick with you long after the song ends.

From what I’ve seen on YouTube and read in reviews (as well as our chat with the band at Bonnaroo in 2024), Trousdale delivers live performances that are both intimate and electrifying. Their harmonies are even more captivating in person, and their on-stage chemistry is palpable. Don’t miss the chance to experience “Growing Pains” live—it’s an opportunity to see this dynamic trio at their best.

Growing Pains is out now.

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