Separatr - QUEEN ACE [EP]

“We Are All In On SEPARATR And Their New EP QUEEN ACE” – The Whole Kamesee

In 2019, Joe and Stephanie Douglas had a band and an age old problem- their drummer. Their third drummer, to be exact. So they disbanded, bought a drum machine, and started fresh as a duo named Separatr. Joe, a long-time guitarist and producer, started reworking their existing bombastic rock songs into moody minimal dark pop. When Stephanie wrote a simple piano ballad called Directionless, it was soon transformed (to their surprise) into a pop-punk anthem. So they embraced these disparate sounds and embarked on the creation of their debut EP QUEEN ACE, all while selling their house and most of their belongings to fund a move from Seattle to Asbury Park, NJ.

Directionless is now the flagship declaration of their contradictions, and the first song written for QUEEN ACE. Its swagger and energy obscure mournful lyrics about grief, culminating in the chorus’ cry of “if you’re gone, where did you go?”. Self-satire abounds in Stephanie’s lyrics, along with vulnerability and confidence. She howls one moment and whispers the next. The production can be delicate and eerie or hit like a wall of sound, and Joe uses the Pixies’ loud-quiet-loud formula to great effect throughout the EP’s five songs. QUEEN ACE is deeply personal and joyous, a hand held out to the world in hopes that their audience will be transported and uplifted.