Start Listening To: cootie catcher

Toronto’s cootie catcher bring a bright, glitchy twist to indie rock on Something We All Got, blending jangly guitars, samples, and three distinct voices into something playful, messy, and sharply human.

Formed in Toronto and led by three singers (Nolan, Anita and Sophia), cootie catcher’s sound pulls from twee indie pop and electronic textures, mixing warm guitar songs with offbeat samples, synth spirals, and sudden left turns that keep everything feeling alive. On their expansive new record Something We All Got, the band level up without sanding off the edges, taking basement energy into the studio while holding onto a little messiness. In this Q&A, they talk about writing constantly on the road, why “Quarter Note Rock” still feels like their centre, how vulnerability sneaks into the lyrics when you least expect it, and how money stress, connection, and overwhelm quietly shape the way the songs land.

For those unfamiliar with your music, can you tell us who you are, where you’re from and about the music you make?

Nolan: we’re cootie catcher from Toronto, Ontario, Canada. We make indie rock with equal parts twee and electronic influences. We have 3 singers Anita, Sophia, and myself.

Something We All Got is your first time stepping out of basements and into a proper studio. What changed for you creatively once you had access to that kind of space, and what did you fight to keep from the lo-fi world?

Nolan: I wouldn’t say this project is especially hifi but we were simply striving to make something sound the best we could. I don’t think we’d like to fully abandon the lofi world since we all appreciate a touch of messiness.

Nate Amos has such a distinctive production sensibility. How did his presence shape the album’s direction, and were there moments where he pushed you into territory you wouldn’t have gone on your own?

Nolan: He definitely achieved a level of polish that I find desirable. There are a few moments that sound not exactly how I was picturing them; particularly on our song From here to halifax in which he put a crazy delay on Sophia’s scratched verse. You’ll have to wait till the whole album comes out to hear that though.

The record feels like a collision of jangly guitar pop with spiralling synth chaos. When you think back to writing these songs, which element usually sparks things first?

Nolan: Usually I write first on the guitar and then make a beat to surround that idea. Then I present that idea or demo to the rest of the group to gauge who would sing it or how to approach it.

‘Straight Drop’ tackles vulnerability in such a specific way. What moments outside of music helped you understand your own emotional thresholds and how to write about them?

Anita: I read somewhere that trying to suppress your thoughts/feelings is like trying to keep a beachball under water. The longer you try to keep it down, the more force it’ll pop back up with to smack you in the face. That’s kind of how writing feels like for me. I have trouble with opening up, and often yearn for vulnerability as a result. So the lyrics about wanting connection kind of just burst out, even if it’s not something that I’m necessarily trying to channel. I usually end up understanding what I’m trying to say after the fact.

Where do your voices overlap most naturally, and where do your perspectives clash in ways that sharpen the songs?

Anita: With three singers, we have so many relationships in our lives to pull from that it’s crazy how universal the lyrics can be. Each of us in the band is definitely on a different part of the introvert-extrovert scale, but the core feeling of wanting to be heard and understood is still what I take away from the album despite it coming from so many different places. So our different perspectives don’t really clash so much as they broaden the conversation.

You use personally sourced samples and offbeat textures throughout the album. What’s the strangest or most unexpected sample that made it onto the final tracklist?

Nolan: I often like to sample things taken from our demos. Little vocal takes or acoustic guitar parts that add a new sound when performing live.

Songs like ‘Gingham Dress’ and ‘Straight Drop’ explore the awkward edges of relationships. Did any particular real-world moment spark the overarching theme of blurred lines between platonic and romantic love?

Sophia: All of the writing I did for this album came from one specific romantic relationship. It wasn’t really about platonic lines blurring, just the emotional tension of a romantic relationship not fully forming. And yes, that came from real life experiences. I tend to write from a romantic lens whereas the others have their own approaches to themes of love and connection. Thats what makes the conversation about navigating different types of relationships feel elusive. 

How has living in Toronto shaped the way you write about social scenes, connection, or even the sense of being overwhelmed?

Anita: I can definitely speak to the feeling of being overwhelmed. A city moves fast and if you’re a slow processor like me, you can feel late to the party for a lot of things. I find myself writing a lot of lyrics about needing to catch up or not wanting to get left behind. I do love living in the city and it does feel good to be a part of it, but yeah it’s a lot!

Late-stage capitalism hangs over so much modern indie music, but your writing approaches it from a very human scale. How do you decide when to keep things small and intimate rather than zooming out?

Nolan: We write about our own lives and it’s a bit hard to escape writing about work and worrying about money because it’s so prevalent to us.

With 14 tracks, Something We All Got feels expansive. Was there a moment when the album’s shape or narrative finally clicked into place?

Nolan: We never stopped writing during Shy at first so we had a lot of ideas collectively. We played a lot of shows around that time and didn’t really repeat setlists. Played a new song almost every show which led to having a whole album worth of songs. Lots of songs got cut and lots were tacked on late in production.

If someone were to enter the cootie catcher universe for the first time, what’s the one song on the record that best captures who you are right now?

Nolan: Probably a song like Quarter Note Rock despite it being one of the older songs; it has lots of samples and synths and vocals from both Anita and I. Also a crazy drum outro only capable of someone like Joseph.

What do you love right now?

Nolan: Bob Dylan

Anita: Penguins

Sophia: Shih tzus

joseph: bernese mountain dog puppies and denim

What do you hate right now?

Nolan: Nostalgia and throwbacks in art. Come up with something new?

Anita: How expensive everything is.

Sophia: How cold it is outside.

joseph: toronto streetcars

Name an album you’re still listening to from when you were younger and why it’s still important to you?

Nolan: Another Green World by Brian Eno still

Holds up from high school to me. Those plucky percussion bits and synths mixing with real piano and voice really do it for me.

Anita: Tough Love by Forth Wanderers. I listened to this album so much in senior year and I relistened to it recently and it hit so hard. So much yearning!!

Sophia: Thank Your Lucky Stars by Beach House is one of my favourite albums ever and I started listening to it on repeat since grade 10. It’s also the album I put on when I want to go to sleep in the car on tour.

joseph: since i first discovered it in high school, i cant stop coming back to the self titled black sabbath album. its one of the best records of all time

When someone hears your music for the first time, what do you hope sticks with them?

Nolan: That we’re doing something different.