Grace Mitchell

If one wanted to describe 18 year old Grace Mitchell in a nutshell one might say she’s a post-Yeezus, highly aware pop disruptor with a lifelong reverence for Tori Amos and a frenetic, fiery sound that raises a middle finger to the zeitgeist while possessing the power to reshape it- but that’s just the beginning.

In order to properly convey that style, the Oregon native locked herself in a Los Angeles studio with Mark Foster of Foster The People back in 2014. When they emerged, she came armed with an explosive sonic concoction that’s as danceable as it is deadly.

On her 2015 Race Day EP, the schizophrenic slap of “Jitter” shifts from a skittering vocal sample into an eerily catchy harmony and funked-up break with lines like, “We don’t care if you can see, everyone’s jittering.” Over a hyper kinetic backdrop, Grace weaves together a different kind of take on that “high school party set piece” from your favorite movie.

(There was another character from the Pacific Northwest who sang about teenage disillusionment like this say 25 years ago or so, and it worked out for him…just saying!)

Elsewhere, “Breaking Hearts and Taking Names” is what she dubs, “a classic party song, but more empowering and thought-provoking.” Then, there’s the title track, which nods to her hometown of Eugene, OR nicknamed “TrackTown USA.”

Signed to Republic Records in 2013, Grace officially entered the race with her cover of “Maneater,” which appeared on the soundtrack to the critically acclaimed The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. Her debut EP, Design, got the blogs buzzing in 2014 with tracks like the single “Broken Over You.”