The Blushes are a DIY feminist punk trio from Los Angeles — three lifelong best friends who take the stage in sweet bows and frills and then proceed to electrify the room. The contrast is the point. Their sound is raw where it counts, joyful without apology, and steeped in a version of intersectional punk-feminism that is distinctly Southern California. They set out to inject glitter and hardcore girliness into alternative rock, and they haven’t stopped since.
SNQLX: Before The Blushes existed as a band, what was missing creatively that eventually pushed you toward forming this project?
THE BLUSHES: Collectively, some of the things we felt were missing from our lives were: powerful Female collaboration in rock n roll, a sense of true ownership over what we were creating together, and a sense of childlike fun that made us want to be musicians to begin with.
SNQLX: Early on, was there a moment where The Blushes stopped feeling like an experiment and started feeling like something you had to take seriously?
THE BLUSHES: The first time we got together to write a song, we wrote “Me Time,” and we knew that this was serious.
SNQLX: When you think back to the first songs you wrote together, what do they reveal about who you were then compared to who you are now?
THE BLUSHES: The first songs we wrote are still just as meaningful now as they were when we started, and we still very much identify with who we were when we wrote them. If anything, we have all become “more ourselves” as The Blushes have grown and evolved.
SNQLX: Looking back, what do you think your earlier songs were trying to say that you couldn’t articulate yet?
THE BLUSHES: We always try to say what we mean in an authentic way — that hasn’t changed. That’s always been a big point for us: to say exactly what we want to say.
SNQLX: How has your relationship with vulnerability changed as the band has grown?
THE BLUSHES: Being in The Blushes has opened a lot of new doors for us that have forced us to become more comfortable with the unknown. Booking and playing more live gigs has helped us become more comfortable — and vulnerable — with our audiences and our songs, and our social media growth has forced us to accept having eyes on us at all times.
SNQLX: Is there something you consciously avoid in your songwriting, either lyrically or sonically?
THE BLUSHES: We avoid anything that feels forced or unnatural for us.
SNQLX: How do you balance honoring your influences without sounding like them?
THE BLUSHES: We have such a broad range of musical influences, it would be practically impossible to channel any single sound. We don’t really feel like we play one genre. We have spent our career finding our own sound, and when we step into the studio, we always try to use “The Blushes” as our north star.
SNQLX: What role does restraint play in your music?
THE BLUSHES: We are not here to be restrained.
SNQLX: When listeners connect deeply to a song, do you feel understood or exposed?
THE BLUSHES: We write music with the intention of connecting as a community, not so much as individuals. So when people connect deeply to a song, we’ve done our job.
SNQLX: What do you hope stays unchanged about The Blushes moving forward?
THE BLUSHES: Our connection, our intention, and the amount of fun we have making and playing this music. We just want to have fun being ourselves.
The Blushes already know who they are. That clarity, rooted in ownership, in joy, in the kind of female collaboration that rock has too often left at the door, is the whole point. The north star they named when they first sat down to write is the same one they follow now. And if the music keeps doing its job, it won’t just connect. It’ll remind people that connection was always the goal.
Direct to You.
