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Photo by Austin Juul Hansen

Sometimes you wake up and are in desperate need of some hot coffee and sleeping next to a cult leader... or maybe that never happens. But, the equivalent is a song that leaves you in a stilted dream state. On her debut album, Cult Leader, Susannah Joffe makes a sonic & visual statement; it's a work that has artisan evidence. Beautifully crafted, it's the patina of genuine effort and emotion that so many albums now lack. Defying convictions and categories, Susannah delivers a surreal visceral treatment of life on records, a Cohen brothers version of Americana that puts plot twists in melodic alt-pop. It's wondrous and happy, while also sad and unfiltered, beautiful woven with a dusty, wise voice comforting you in every chorus. We had the privilege of hosting this beguiling artist into our pod huddle, and made her spill the beans on Cult Leader, great songwriting and more:

OnesToWatch: Why are you an artist? 

Susannah Joffe: I'm an artist because I feel like I have no choice but to be. I went to school for film, and thought that was what I would do. I was taking four different arts classes and in my free periods, I would go take other arts classes because I was trying to do everything. I was always a creative gal, and then COVID hit and I wrote my first song. Immediately, it felt like this was for me, for the rest of my life, forever. 

It sounds like you had creative competition between film and music, so why didn’t music win out? 

Good question! I originally almost went to school for visual art or film, and then almost painting. There was this demonic side of me that would take six months to do a painting and I would lose my mind, and then anytime I would edit my own film project, I would legitimately go crazy. I am not a patient person, and I just started getting so frustrated with how long the process took. Also, the budgets and connections you need for people to see a film or painting. But, with music, it’s so instantly gratifying. It felt like such an accessible art form, where I could make it with no connections and people still might find me. And look at me now, ladies and gentlemen. 

Tell me about this demonic side of going crazy while painting. 

I was really into hyper-realistic portraits, and I would spend hours on a 3-inch radius of a cheek, then come in the next day to work on it, and realize how crazy it looked. Like, why did I make my skin green? Like what's happening? And I'd redo. I have OCD, and I think painting almost got compulsive for me. Whereas with music, it feels like a release of my anxiety. 

If you weren't doing music, and you weren't crazy, what would you be doing? 


Realistically, I would not do film, because working your way up to a successful career in that industry is honestly harder than music. I think I’d go back to school for psychiatry and go into mental health and work as a therapist or something. Or I would go into zoology and become a veterinarian. 

How do each of the art forms make you feel, in terms of creative expression?

I’ll give analogies, because that’s the best way I can describe it. With film editing, it felt like looking for a needle in a haystack. With painting, it was like constantly trying to scrub a mark off the ground that would never come off. Making songs, it’s like running naked through a field. 

Do you have a day job outside of music? 

I work a 9-to-5 in marketing. And I'm proud of it. The fact that I'm making this shit happen and working full time? I work at a creative agency and I do social media for Jim Beam Whiskey. Best whiskey in the world.

Well, this checks out, because you have a very striking brand identity. Is there any irony in the layers? 

Definitely. 

Between the ironic layers, what is meant to be the average consumer’s takeaway from your brand? 

I want to come across as this really overconfident, but really warm Southern charm gal, like “bless your heart,” but also, “I'm gonna rule the world” kind of vibe, you know? I love the campiness of Sabrina Carpenter, and I want to have that kind of unseriousness with my stuff. Because lyrically, I’m so serious, so it's fun to visually have a little more fun. But honestly, my visuals and my whole brand identity is kind of me just having a good time. My photographer has also been my best friend since I was seven, and we just have a good time. It’s definitely deliberate though, as well. I make huge Pinterest boards for every single thing I do. If I had to describe my aesthetic, it's like you combine the dirty side of Texas, the dirt roads and the dead grass and the stop signs that haven't been repainted in like 20 years, with the glamour of Dallas beauty pageants and Dolly Parton. 

I love it. Steering a little bit away from the visuals. Do you have a writing process yet for music? 

It depends. My last few songs, I definitely went into writing them with the intention of wanting to create a really cinematic vibe, and I feel like they were very film inspired and aesthetic, world building inspired. And so that really guided me with the lyricism and production. My previous music has been super inspired by my own experiences, like anytime I'm sad or have any big emotions, I'll pull out my phone and write some shit down or take a voice memo, and then I revisit that a lot when I'm writing. So it kind of just depends on what part of my life I'm at. Right now I'm kind of having a writer's block because I'm so damn happy. I can't think about anything to write about because I'm just so happy. And Cult Leader, I dumped all of my heart and soul into it, and I feel like I've been cleared out.
So, while I’m starting writing for the next project, I have no idea where to go with it, because the slate is clean. 

Why do you think artists struggle with productivity when they're content? It's such a thing. 


I mean, everyone always says, your career is best when your personal life is at its lowest. On a basic level, people love sad songs and it's really easy to write a sad song when you're fucking sad. But, sometimes it’s not. The other day, I was like, okay, I'm gonna write a sad song because it hadn't I been a while, and I tried to like tap into my second breakup that literally drove me up the fucking wall. And I just couldn't do it, because I just kept thinking about my cute girlfriend. I was like, oh, I love that girl. I just need to really tap into my artistry again. I've done two paintings in the last three years.
The first one, I started losing my mind a little bit, so I was like, enough. But the second one I went to a park and I painted with my friend, my childhood friend that does my photography, because we grew up painting together, and we just went to the park and just painted this whole canvas in the day, and that was really fun. It took the pressure off of myself. I need to do more of that. 

You mentioned your current project, Cult Leader. When were these songs written? 

I started writing for this project probably a year ago, and I finished writing for it about three months ago. 


So then that's the shitty breakup. 

No, the shitty breakup I'm referring to was from three years ago, but it's still such an inspiration. I had a break up since then. I had three breakups. 
I've had three serious relationships. I'm onto my third.

Go get them tiger.

Thank you for the encouragement, fourth time’s a charm. I would say on this project, there's three breakup songs, one song that's about the political climate in Texas, and then a love song… oh, I guess there's four breakup songs, actually. I wrote quite a few breakup songs.

It sounds like you write more out of necessity to express a feeling. Are you able to go back and revise things at all?

One of the songs I wrote four years ago that I kind of forgot about, but always knew something would happen with it. I had to do something with it eventually, so I ended up rewriting it. That's the only one that I revisited and wrote over time, the rest were in the moment. The last song I wrote for the project, I wrote up three in the morning and wrote it in 20 minutes. And that I think is kind of the vibe for most of the songs on that project, that I just let them out. 

When you put that project together, was it meant to be chapters in a book, does it all fit together? Is it sort of comprehensive?

I think it's really cohesive production wise. It really creates a world for the listener, narratively. There’s definitely nods to other songs, lyrically. I have one song called “Omahasia,” where I say, “I don't believe in violence, but I believe in passion, you make me wanna buy a gun and fuck you old-fashioned.” And then in my most recent song, a love song, the chorus is “I've got passion and I've got a gun, but I'm calling your bluff.
You thought that we were done, baby, you’re shit out of luck.” So it's this tale of all-encompassing love and lust ending in a fiery murder. 

Yeah, it is very Texas. Do you have an idea of where you're going next, or are you too happy to contemplate your next project? 


No, I've already been thinking about my next project, and sonically, I'm getting a lot of inspiration right now from 50s country ballads. But also shoegaze pop and meshing those genres together. 

Pivoting to hopefully some more fun questions. What do you do for fun? 

I’m an AMC A-list member. 
I love going to the movies so much. I love going to the park. Specifically McCarren Park. I love going to the park and just sitting and watching people. I love games. 
I'm very, very, very playful gal. I love going to board game bars and playing board games. My girlfriend, for Valentine's Day, she made me a customized cueboard with all my favorite places and all my favorite people. It was really cute. I cried. I love games. I also love cooking and cooking with people and trying new restaurants with people. 

It seems like you’re a really fun person to hang out with. 

I literally am. 


Have you ever played Ticket to Ride? 

No.

Highly recommend it. It is a game, you need to essentially build a railway and sort of block other people from building theirs. What do you cook? 

I made a really good lamb ragu pasta situation.
It was really good. The recipe is in the New York Times, but you have to go to the notes and go through all the notes on the recipe and incorporate all of those, because it made it way better. I also have been making a lot of miso leek dishes. This is gonna sound fucked up, but I made toast with miso leeks, and then a vinaigrette, and soft boiled eggs, that was really good. 

What would your ideal date be? 

My girlfriend plans the best dates. Ideal date would be cooking together, then we go picnic in the park and have some wine, then maybe go to a drive through movie at night. Like The Proposal. That’s one of my favorite movies. 

Can I hear your top now? 


The Proposal is really up there. Call Me By Your Name is up there. I will say, I like the movie, but obviously fuck the director. I love Black Swan, I think that's definitely up there. The other two would either be one of the Harry Potter movies or Catching Fire. 

Can you separate JK Rowling from Harry Potter? 


That was my childhood, but she sucks. 

Last couple of questions. What is the best place to listen to Cult Leader?

I think the perfect place to experience this project is when you're driving through Texas, like if you drive from like Austin to West Texas or past Marfa, just on those open roads where there’s literally not a car in sight. Especially if you're able to be in the back of a truck, which is illegal, but my friends and I used to do that when you were kids. Hypothetically, the perfect listening place is the bed of the truck with headphones on, laying down, looking at the sky as we're driving… 


Very cinematic. Last question. We love when artists put us on to other artists, so who are your OnesToWatch? Who are you listening to that we should be listening to? 

I discovered Ivy today, loving that. 

Who would you take on tour?

I'd love to play with Role Model, cause I feel like it would be really fun. I would love to play with Wolf Alice. I think Jave is someone that deserves more flowers. She's amazing. Another person I think deserves flowers is Sarah King. Fellow Texas girl making really cool stuff. 

Anything else you would like to add before we sign off into the deluge?


I can't wait to be a star and famous. 

I think you’re already a star. 

Well, I can't wait to be famous, so that I can fund myself. I would be the kind of famous person where I can walk around in public and no one bothers me. I just wanna be able to fully fund myself with my music and be able to travel a bunch with the money for my music. 

Hell yeah.. well, thank you so much. 

Yay.