Lauren Hoffman

Lauren Hoffman is a songwriter, singer, and multi-instrumentalist who has written and released albums during every tumultuous phase of the music business since the late nineties. As a pre-teen inspired by John Lennon, PJ Harvey, Nine Inch Nails, Greek mythology and Sylvia Plath, Hoffman picked up the guitar, quickly began to forge her own musical path, and was signed to a major label by age 19. Her recordings blend influences from jazz, punk, folk, industrial, new wave, and pop:

“Hoffman touches on a wide selection of styles and rhythms… there is no one style exploited here. Multiple styles and ideas are used, from folk to rock to torch songs, and she glides from stone to stone without missing a step.” - Chris True, Allmusic.com

“She tackles a variety of subjects outdone only by the record’s impressive array of musical styles — including rock, folk, and jazz — through which she conveys her unnerving sentiments” - Bill Kong, CMJ

Mercury Girls is Lauren Hoffman's latest genre-bending singer/songwriter alt-pop album — eight songs that twist darkness and tension into the beauty of chamber-pop and the warmth of Beatles-y guitar-based indie rock. Written and produced by Hoffman, Mercury Girls was recorded in Virginia by Mark Graham and mixed by multiple-Grammy-winning engineer Ryan Freeland in Los Angeles.

With Mercury Girls, Lauren Hoffman is once again “showcasing the sort of shapeshifting that has been [her] calling card as a singer-songwriter since she appeared on the scene” - Steve Leftridge, PopMatters. The songs on Mercury Girls explore different sonic landscapes but have in common a deep longing for and simultaneous fear of meaningful connections: with a lover - 'Heartbreak & Tacos', 'Lost Cause', 'Carried Away' - with one's self, identity, and spirituality - 'The Chemical', 'Mercury Girls', 'Fix Me Up Love' - and with a society facing grave challenges - 'Sunrise At The Apocalypse', 'Shadow Of The Moon'.

As a producer, Lauren Hoffman draws upon the wealth of knowledge and experience she acquired while creating her first five albums with master engineers/producers/musicians such as Ethan Johns, David Lowery, Jon Brion, Brian Kehew, and John Morand. She has developed a sound that is “the sum of her influences and much more” - John Schacht, Allmusic.com, favoring the warmth of real instruments played by humans, capturing emotional and honest performances, and always faithful to the goal of 'serving the song'.

"I wrote 'The Chemical' in a flash of inspiration not long after Scott Weiland died and I read an article he had written about his relationship with drugs. I haven't struggled with opiate addiction myself, but I have been through that struggle with loved ones. Songs come to me like that - like I am possessed. I sat at the piano and it poured out," she says, in the caption to her self-produced video for the single on Youtube. Hoffman created the video in a period of 24-hours in which, she says, she 'comes out' as a dancer: "When you prioritize accepting and being yourself out loud, you also give other people permission to love and accept you as you are."

"I thought Megiddo was really good...but I think this is better! All the intrigue and beautiful stuff I remember from your music is definitely here, but these songs go deeper for me, both on the sad haunting ones and the clever funny ones-- lots of quotable lines in there! And I'm sure the title song will be sticking in my head for days to come." - Brett Milano, music journalist and author of "The Sound of Our Town: A History of Boston Rock and Roll"

"I find Mercury Girls her best work since 2006's Choreography. It's sassy, savvy, and emotional, like a Laurel Canyon-ized Elvis Costello-- but with a shimmering voice that doesn't sound like cigarettes and sandpaper." - Hawes Spencer, journalist and author of "Summer of Hate: Charlottesville USA"

"Delicately waltzing through various topics, sounds and genres, ‘Mercury Girls’ switches up what we can expect from a Lauren Hoffman album whilst still being unmistakably her throughout... it leaves you craving more and you’ll be pressing repeat before you know it." - Simon Smith, Higher Plain Music

Lauren’s albums have been released to critical acclaim from press outlets large and small, in partnership with labels such as Virgin Records, Kill Rock Stars, PIAS (EU) and Fargo (France). Her songs have been used in film and TV, added to radio stations in the US and Europe, and can be heard spinning regularly on Pandora radio (28 million streams so far). She has toured internationally, produced events, co-created numerous music videos, run an independent label, recorded and produced other artists, and appeared as a guest vocalist on multiple records.