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Photos by Makayla Keasler

Earlier this year Ally Evenson introduced us to the world of Speed Kills, a place where the line between villain and final girl is blurred, and uncertainty is the only thing to count on. Today, the story continues with 4 new tracks that add fire to the flame of an album so brilliant we wish it could last forever. Included in the deluxe is the record’s title track, which finally sees the light of day after months of reworking and contemplation. To say it’s worth the wait would be an understatement, as the final track embraces every element that makes Speed Kills special and captures it all with newfound perspective and surrender. We caught up with Ally to learn more about the process of Speed Kills (All Gas), writing her first true love song, and her dream alternate ending to the album’s horror inspired short film. 

OnesToWatch: When you made these 4 tracks, how did you know they were still part of the Speed Kills universe?

Ally Evenson: There's a lot of introspection on Speed Kills and these tracks are definitely a continuation of that. “Overdressed at the Party,” for example, is a song about feeling really uncomfortable, which connects to one of the deluxe tracks “Say It,” a song about having ADHD.

The title track was the only one that was written during the time of making the standard album and the others came after. “Speed Kills” was written in early 2025, which is crazy. It would have been on the album if everyone was behind it, but part of it has been rewritten now. Now, I can agree that I needed some time with it. After going back and rewriting some parts, it makes more sense to me. It’s a really sick bookend that ties everything together. The other two songs are pretty introspective too. “The Martyr” is about feeling unworthy of good love and “I'm In Trouble Now” is just a straight up love song. 

When you’re writing, what are the signs that you’re moving on to a new project entirely? 

There were actually songs that I was writing during the Speed Kills era that I knew were not gonna live on this project. Speed Kills feels shiny and glimmery, lighthearted in a way but also devastating. There are some songs I've been working on that feel really dark, both sonically and subject wise. I just knew they would pull too much out of that [Speed Kills] world. I love creating extremely thought out worlds, so it has to connect.

The deluxe songs fit perfectly into that world, but what do you think the biggest difference is between them and the standard tracks? 

To me, the charm of Speed Kills is that parts of it feel a little unsure. I think these [deluxe] songs feel pretty confident. 

You released “Say It” first, which was written about having ADHD but could be applied to so many different things. How have people been responding to it? 

People who have extreme ADHD like mine have reached out to say they’ve listened to the song on repeat and it’s making them feel seen, which is so sick. The song is masked to be two people willing each other to say what's on their mind. That could read as a relationship song, a breakup song or even a love song. It’s about any situation where someone is not saying what you know they're gonna say and how infuriating that is. It can be taken so many ways.

“I’m In Trouble Now” definitely stands out both sonically and by the attitude of the song. What was the process of making it? 

I wanted it to feel more live. It was pretty much only tracked once, which helps achieve that messy, in-the-room, natural feeling. I think that’s what love is, just really bare. Historically, it’s been hard for me to write a love song. Maybe because it’s taken me a long time in my life to feel pure, healthy love. Within the past year, I've felt so much deep platonic love and it's beautiful that I feel like I can finally write about it now. 

I love that you keep so many tidbits from the recording process in the songs, both on the standard album and deluxe. How do you know when it’s right to do so?

Nigel, my producer, is always recording [in the studio]. He has little mics that are always going once the session starts. Whatever we're saying, I'll be like, “Oh, that was funny. Put that in there.” There are always fun fuck ups, like in “Blame it on You” when I say “Should I come in right at the top?” I immediately knew I wanted to leave that in. 

The production on “The Martyr” is so good. Is that a little piano in the background? 

Yes! That's my favorite part of that song. It’s so ridiculous out of context. I actually used just the piano in a video for a giveaway a couple months ago. It's majestic.

It’s so fun to tease without people knowing what it’s for. 

I love it so much that I just listen to the piano part sometimes. We don't usually use a lot of piano in my songs, but it felt right to do it in that one. 

What does that song mean to you? 

Since my last long relationship, I have struggled to try again because I feel like everything is my fault or I'm ruining everything. The lyrics, “I couldn't act out / That's why I am now / I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry” are about how I wasn't able to be an asshole [in previous relationships]. Obviously, it's called “The Martyr,” so it's about rediscovering normal behavior after being traumatized in the past. 

The chorus repeats the statement “I was in the wrong” over and over – was that exposure therapy (pun intended) for you in a way? 

Yeah. I love being right. It’s really difficult for me to accept that maybe I fucked up. So I have to say it a bunch of times. [Laughs]

The production of the title track references so many sounds that are used throughout the standard album, which makes it a great bookend as you said earlier. How did it change sonically since early 2025?

It started with just a riff. I’m always scared to write a riff on guitar because I'm such a confident rhythm guitarist. This was the first song that felt like maybe the hook is a guitar riff. As an alternative/pop leaning artist, that's a big no-no. Because the question is always, what's the hook? Where's the chorus? But for “Speed Kills,” there is none. I brought it into the studio on a day where Nigel and I planned on bringing a couple friends in to just have fun and see what happens. It was me, Trella, Kim Vi, and Nigel. I knew I wanted this riff to be the main part of the song and I wanted it to be a wall of sound. 

It’s always been a big song, but there were sections where there weren’t lyrics or anything happening. I tried to make it super wordy, but I ultimately realized part of the song is giving the instrumentation space. I had to accept that it’s okay for me to have a song like this and that it's okay to leave space. There are a few people that can do the wordy thing really well, like Audrey Hobert for example. There's a lot of that happening in pop music right now. But what if I don't have that much to say? What if I like the space? The issue with “Speed Kills” was not knowing what to do with it. Then I realized, maybe it’s to do less. It’s a bit scary to write something like that in a world that’s so focused on wanting a hit. This is not the hit, but it’s right for the song. 

The Speed Kills era officially ends with you saying, “Is the rest of my life gonna feel what this feels like?” What does it represent to close this whole chapter with that statement?

“Speed Kills” is about two things. One of them is sex and how writing an awesome song is euphoric, like sex. But it’s also about the feeling of being an artist. When we wrote this, I was in the mindset of, “Maybe I'm gonna pop off and become super famous.” That's also what the song is about. “Take my picture / Hold it / Treat it” is a lyric about how having your picture taken feels liberating, but also exposing. The pre-chorus asks a question and then at the end of the chorus, it answers it. I’m asking, “Is this gonna work?” And then the other person answers: “It's all on you. You gotta make it happen.” Ending this era with that is really cool because it's helping me stop overthinking and just focusing on what makes me happy, not anyone else. 

If you could continue the Speed Kills short film to include these tracks, what would your character be up to? 

I had an idea, which will never happen because it’s quite crazy...but we can imagine it. The idea was to continue the short film with the title track. I wanted to walk to a lab where there's a bunch of people in racing suits that are all experiencing different simulations. I was toying with what the experiment is, if it's on how to find love or how to control anger. The idea was that I wake up and I'm like, “Sorry guys, I failed that one.” Since, you know…I killed everyone in my simulation. [Laughs] It was getting too out of hand, but I know it would be something meta. 

Listen to Speed Kills (All Gas) below: