Rising Brooklyn-based artist Anaïs & The Hoops takes center stage with her new EP, Growing Pains, available now on all streaming platforms. The six-track collection channels her signature fusion of indie-pop, jazz, and folk into music that feels nostalgic, playful, and deeply personal.
Three years in the making, Growing Pains is the product of both patience and collaboration. Anaïs brought in producer Ben Coleman alongside her bandmates and fellow New York musicians, ensuring that every track carried its own distinctive imprint. That collaborative spirit reached even further, with her mother helping refine the lyrics of her first French-language song, “Passe le temps,” while a poem by her friend Alex Brady became part of “Cool.” “It’s been fun to cobble together,” Anaïs shares. “Basically, every song was touched by someone in or around the live band.”
Lyrically, Growing Pains traces themes of identity, nostalgia, and self-discovery. The songs dwell in the tension of growing older while still holding onto the kid you once were. “These songs were some of the first I wrote that truly felt like me,” Anaïs says. “Most of these songs came together after I moved from California to New York, at a time when I was figuring out who I wanted to be. That chapter of my life gave me the chance to embrace the traits and experiences that now define me as both an artist and a person.”
Anaïs & The Hoops is the project of San Diego-raised singer and songwriter Anaïs Lund. Before finding her footing in the indie scene in 2019, she cut her teeth performing in jazz clubs and restaurants, a background that continues to shape her distinctive style. With jazz-inflected vocals, sharp yet vulnerable lyrics, and catchy pop melodies, Anaïs & The Hoops stands out as one of indie music’s freshest voices.
Already, she’s built a reputation as a magnetic live act—selling out her own headline shows, performing at NXNE Music Festival in Toronto, and opening for artists like Jade Bird and Thunder Jackson. Growing Pains now offers the most complete picture yet of her sound, capturing the balance of reflection and reinvention that drives her artistry forward.
What makes Growing Pains so striking is the way it refuses to sit neatly in one box. Anaïs blends indie-pop’s brightness with the emotional depth of folk and the improvisational feel of jazz, creating a sound that feels both timeless and current. In a genre landscape often dominated by polished minimalism, her willingness to lean into warmth, collaboration, and vulnerability feels refreshing. Growing Pains isn’t just an introduction—it’s the kind of record that signals an artist ready to carve out her own lane in indie music.