images provided by Peachy Spleen

“They’re words that are the antithesis of each other, and (as for) the peach you saw, we really just wanted to grab everyone’s attention… In general, we kind of have a contrast of softer, prettier energies with harsher, darker energies.”

Peachy Spleen riffs off of each other’s energies, creating jams and singles that are parallel to an unplugged session. Talking with the three-piece girl band shows you why it’s important to highlight female artists in today’s world, as we discussed more about feminism and what it means to create. death of a rabbit had the pleasure to sit down with Peachy Spleen from Indiana to talk about their project and more.

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DEATH OF A RABBIT: I wanted to first ask about the peach itself. I was very intrigued by the logo you guys have going on. I see teeth or tongues and then like mold — I just wanted to know what inspired that. What does the peach represent?

STAR SCUM: Peachy Spleen is a joke on the phrase “peachy keen,” but taken to the next level, because peachy is this bright cheerful energy and spleen is an internal organ, but also a word that can mean anger. They’re words that are the antithesis of each other, and (as for) the peach you saw, we really just wanted to grab everyone’s attention. Rotting fruit and eyeballs are big symbols in our music. In general, we kind of have a contrast of softer, prettier energies with harsher, darker energies.

DOAR: I also really enjoy the album artwork you guys have! There are a lot of different mediums that you guys use, from drawings to photos; it seems like a very eclectic mix of things. I was wondering, who creates the album art, and how do you guys go about each one?

STAR SCUM: Thank you! When we first started the project, we were using Photoshop and our own photography; but these days, we have moved into physical art, either our own art or our friends’ art. William Bond is an artist that we’ve used before, LIVE AT LEZAGNA and Renewal. The ever-changing art for “ECC,” (is) actually a collage of my own photography with his and our art. Some of it is digital, some physical. The owl, I think (is) an oil pastel drawing my grandmother did in her diary. I took a picture of that, and I did it in my own style, because that song is actually her lyrics adapted by me.

DOAR: I actually was going to ask about “ECC.” I was really curious about that song in particular.

STAR SCUM: It’s actually a song that I wrote in 2018 with my last project, Clit Splinter. I was the vocalist of that band, but I refer to that project now as my “Pre-feminist consciousness project.” It was a little bit rougher around the edges, and it was before I learned a lot about my own connection to feminism and lesbianism. I wanted to reclaim some of the lyrics from that project, since I wrote them, and I wanted to do it with the girls, because I knew that we could bring a new and different energy to it. But the “ECC” is actually a self-portrait. In the song, I’m detailing different symbols that I really resonate with. Each symbol is a different aspect of who I am. Fun fact — in the most recent version, I actually left out the lyric, “I am an onion, eternity’s sting / I am the needle, pulling your strings.” I actually repurposed it in another song, because I identified that couplet as exactly what I was saying earlier, pre-feminist Star Scum, and I wanted to do something different with it; but, all the other symbols hold up after all these years. 

DOAR: I also wanted to ask how you guys go about formatting music. You guys have a lot of singles and EPs out versus full fledged albums. 

STAR SCUM: I think part of it is that we live in a 24/7 capitalistic society. I mean, it’s extremely hard to find as much time as we would like to put into writing music. The girls and I have talked about making it a goal in 2026 to record more music and release more albums. We would love to do that; but the fact is, we all work jobs. We have very little support outside of each other. Art is something we have to squeeze into our free time. Even though it’s our actual love and priority, it’s sadly coming second, you know?

EMILY: Even throwing shows, we go to venues around the area and out of state; but, we started our own venue in our basement called Lezagna House. We did it because it can be hard to break into that social scene when you’re a new band with not a lot of money and consisting of young women, who aren’t super conventionally hot. We are weird women who make weird music. It’s not easy to contact any normal venue in our town and be like, “Could you book us?”

DOAR: Looking a little bit more into your sonics, I was listening to different parts of your discography and it seems very mellow, like I’m walking through the woods. But GROWTH seems like more noise rock. So, I was curious on how you guys developed your sound.

KOLBI: I actually did not play guitar on the GROWTH EP. That was all Star. My big inspirations are like Deftones, Knocked Loose. I’m really into shoegaze and metal. I’m also into instrumental acoustic guitar that has all the pretty sounds and sounds like a bird tweeting. I don’t have a specific genre that I stick to; but these days I’m leaning more towards metal, because I’ve been playing my seven string a lot.

STAR SCUM: Up until recently, I did not play the guitar and it would be generous to say that I play the guitar now. But you know, when I met Kolbi, and still to this day I would describe her playing as just very beautiful and the emotion so clear and obvious to me, that’s what made me click with her and want to write lyrics over her instrumentals. I knew that if I tried playing guitar, I would not be the same kind of guitarist as her. To try and emulate her would be silly. She’s one of a kind. So, I wanted to try to play the guitar experimentally and use my intuition, similar to how I use my intuition in my vocals. I guess what came to me was hard and fast, which is very different from how Kolbi plays. We joke that I can’t play like her, and she can’t play like me. I think maybe in the future, it could be interesting to try and collaborate more.

EMILY: I have no idea how I got so cosmically lucky as to meet Star and Kolbi. My bread and butter since I was a child is women’s music — bringing your authenticity, independence and autonomy, feminist consciousness and love for other women into your music. I have found that in two people who are willing to make any kind of music with me. I’m personally really inspired by bands like Tribe 8 and The Gossip who were born out of this autonomous women’s music that was prevalent in the 70’s and 80’s. There was a punk wave that came after that in the 90’s and I feel like that’s what I bring to my drumming.

DOAR: death of a rabbit likes to focus on lyricism and poetry — I was wondering, what’s a song with lyrics that you’ve listened to lately that you really enjoyed, or what’s a lyric that you wish you’d written?

EMILY:

Listen, there are waters, hidden from us

In the maze we find them still

We’ll take you to them, you take your young ones

May they take their own in turn

Ferron, “Testimony”

KOLBI:

I will hide from the spotlight

I will stay in the dark

Pain cannot finish

If pain never starts

Knocked Loose, “Belleville”

STAR SCUM:

I’ve seen what I chose

And I’ve seen what I need

And that is enough

To want more would be greed

Björk, “I’ve Seen It All”

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Chek out Peachy Spleen’s work here!