Grace Gardner is ready to run her “Recovery Mile”

With one EP and several stray singles under her belt, indie pop singer Grace Gardner is ready to move on to a new chapter of her life and her music. On Friday, Grace Gardner will release the first single, “Cleanup Dive,” off of her new EP titled “Recovery Mile.” While the EP does not have a definitive release date, Gardner knows the ethos of the project like the back of her hand.

Photo courtesy of Grace Gardner

Past releases served as a means of processing sorrow for Gardner. “There was not a lot of forward movement in those songs,” Gardner said. “It was just kind of letting myself sit in the feeling I was feeling.”

In songs like “Designated Driver” from Gardner’s previous EP, she sings, “I wanna be your designated driver,” quickly combated with “You left a dent in my passenger seat.” Gardner has clear control over her words. She has always been pointed with her lyricism, even when that means the lyrics turn utterly tragic. Like when she sings, “It breaks the heart that I wear on my sleeve,” in “Deny Me.” 

In “Recovery Mile,” she uses her poignant songwriting skills to practice her craft in a new way. Taking inspiration from budding artists like Lizzy McAlpine, Carol Ades, Adam Mechler, Olivia Barton, and Madison Cunningham, Gardner has tried to find a balance in her music by allowing reflection and joy without compromising her true feelings. 

“Lubbock” explores the exhaustion of having to parent your partner. A song temporarily called “Homesickness” delves into the fears of turning into your mother as you grow older. But alongside these sanguine tracks are more openly optimistic ones. “The next EP is very much forward progress[ing],” Gardner said. She’s switching some painful tracks for “love songs” and “songs about bettering [her]self” in an effort to “make up for the stuckness” of previous projects.

There’s an air of hope even in the EP’s title. “I was just scrolling on TikTok, and for some reason, I've gotten running content,” she said, emphasizing that she is not a runner. “But someone was talking about like, ‘I'm on my recovery mile.’” And with that, the EP’s title was born. “[The EP is] both crossing a finish line and cutting another ribbon,” she said.

The “Recovery Mile” era will be filled with thrifted jerseys, Gardner’s own soccer and softball memorabilia, and lots of tennis shoes. Gardner created the album art using paints, Crayola crayons, and old buttons. Her design promises a nostalgic, soulful EP. 

This new chapter of songwriting might be a bit less melancholic, but it will always center on Gardner. 

She enjoys feeling in control of her work, through her songwriting, her instrumentation, and her involvement in producing. Because of her connection to so many parts of the process, she has “felt a lot more rewarded,” she said. Gardner plays a vast number of instruments: guitar, piano, ukelele, and mandolin, just to name a few. And impressively, she learned most of them herself. She got into a habit of buying instruments and figuring out how to play them later. “I got tired of people telling me that I couldn't, so I was like, ‘okay, let me try.’”

This sentiment seems to be a common pattern for Gardner. From her role as an artist to her involvement with fans, Gardner is in the driver's seat. Her participation in stan culture from a young age led her to understand her fan base on a deeper level. We can thank One Direction and Five Seconds of Summer for that. 

But what Gardner did differently was really listen and observe. She quickly created a Discord for her and her fans to connect and promoted genuine kindness. “People who are good and have good hearts will recognize that you are a person,” she said. “People want to look up to good people.” In that, Gardner created a nurturing and loving community of fans, who she did refer to as generally “​​gay hairbow high schoolers.”

Since her stan days, Gardner has always looked up to other artists. She lists off album after album that everyone should own: “Rumours” by Fleetwood Mac (with Silver Springs, of course), “This is a Good Sign” by Olivia Barton, “Collapsed In Sunbeams” by Arlo Parks, and “Revealer” by Madison Cunningham, she decided. With all these musical inspirations, she fell in love with the craft. 

“Songwriting is my savior,” she admits with a smile spreading from ear to ear. 

You can check out her new single “Cleanup Drive”, here.