Jessica Hottman loves making music. It’s in her DNA. It allows her to connect with the songs she’s created viscerally. I first interviewed Jessica Hottman in 2018. Since then a lot has changed in particular with Jessica venturing out on her own from time to time. Her new songs ahead of her debut album, Exit Through the Trees feel ethereal, never straying far from what’s important to her. Her latest releases under her own name rather than her creative alter egos, Sun Cycles and Giveth, continue to showcase her affinity for dark-pop and synth-pop, but with a focus on more personal driven narratives rather than broad pop cliches. So this is where we find the Omaha-based singer-songwriter. Poised to redefine pop on her own terms.
Jessica, you’ve steadily released new music across a variety of music projects and bands and managed to keep from repeating yourself while still sounding fresh. How do you feel you’ve progressed?
I feel like this new solo project contains some of my strongest pop writing yet. I approached each song with the intention that it could stand on its own as a stripped-down acoustic piece while still maintaining its emotional power. In fact, most of the songs were written on acoustic guitar first.
Compared to some of my previous releases with Sun Cycles, which leaned more heavily into atmosphere, dance elements, and vibe-driven production, the Jessica Hottman project feels more poignant and lyrically grounded. There’s still that sense of pop mystery and drama that has always drawn me in, but this project reflects a personal evolution toward more direct emotional storytelling and stronger songwriting at the core.
Does that freedom in mixing it up both sonically and as a solo artist or band member get easier or harder?
I really enjoy exploring different sounds and genres and writing in whatever style feels authentic to the era of life I’m in. In that sense, it’s incredibly freeing and feels natural. The harder part is maintaining the social presence and momentum behind all of my projects and giving each one the attention it deserves, but creatively, I love not boxing myself into one lane.
Four wonderful new dark-pop tracks for 2026 – Poisonous, Surf the Dawn, Quiet Girl Next Door and your latest Two Fools – all I understand taken from your forthcoming album Exit Through the Trees. Did you have a specific theme or key concept in mind when you started working on these songs for the album?
It really started with returning to pop music in the post-COVID world. I felt like the industry had changed drastically, but more importantly, I had changed too. I had experienced a lot of personal growth, gained a deeper perspective, and realized I had more meaningful things to say in my songwriting, even while still creating catchy pop songs.
At its core, the record is about finding alignment in my life. It explores breaking old habits, navigating unbalanced love, and confronting toxicity. The singles are being released in chronological order as they appear on the record, so the story gradually builds in intensity, emotion, and depth as it unfolds. Alongside each release, I’ve also been creating music videos where I wear the same outfit throughout every video to symbolize that they’re all chapters of one continuous journey. It represents leaving behind the false comfort of familiarity and stepping into the unknown in search of real inner peace and alignment.
The next wave of singles coming out this year dives even deeper emotionally…they’re darker and more vulnerable.
Did you draw on personal stories for your lyrics, and if so how important is it to find a conscious balance between being guarded about what you write about and letting loose? Which of your new songs fits this scenario?
I definitely pull from personal experiences and emotions in my songwriting, and I place a lot of myself throughout the lyrics. At the same time, I try not to write in an overly literal or purely narrative way, because I want listeners to form their own emotional connections and interpretations.
I’ve always loved how artists like Enya, Imogen Heap, and Caroline Polachek create music that feels deeply personal and emotional, without explaining everything outright. That balance is important to me. I have to let my inner guard down for the songs to feel authentic, but I don’t feel that my writing always has to be super literal either. Sometimes one simple line or the way something is sang or a subtle production detail can say everything. Songwriting really is a form of poetry in that sense.
My single “Surf the Dawn” is a great example of that approach. Upon first listen, it feels catchy, bright, and lighthearted (perhaps guarded or surface-level in a sense), but underneath it’s actually a heavier song about my personal experience of being around someone who could only engage with things superficially—someone who could never see or fully understand my depth. So I let loose lyrically on this song and let my true self pour out into the writing…hence the lyric “Never shut up, never shut up, do you?”
I understand Poisonous is a song about toxic love and breaking free of that cycle? Can you elaborate a little about why this subject is so important to you?
My romantic relationships have had a huge impact on my environment and sense of self. Too many times, I’ve come out of relationships barely recognizing who I am, because I had hidden parts of myself just to make things work with someone that I ultimately wasn’t aligned with. That’s a really dangerous sacrifice to make and where the word poisonous comes into play.
Over time, I’ve realized that healthy, genuine love should feel natural. It shouldn’t come from a place of performance, facade, or constantly trying to change each other just to force the relationship to survive. I think it’s important not to settle for the temporary comfort of an unaligned relationship simply to avoid loneliness or to have someone around.
Do you feel any internal or external pressure to stay creative?
I do feel an internal pressure to stay creative, but it’s not necessarily a negative pressure. Making music is genuinely a joyful experience for me, especially as an independent artist with full creative freedom. More than anything, I feel a responsibility to keep honoring that part of myself by releasing music. I’ve been writing songs since I was a kid, and it’s truly one of those rare childlike passions that I never want to lose touch with.
I’ve never asked you about which musical instrument is your favourite? I know you play both acoustic and electric guitar. Often on your songs your guitar acts as this emotional counterweight to your synth beats. It’s a great sound. What do you love about it? What’s your go-to guitar?
Wow, that’s a tough question. Piano is definitely my first love, and there’s a deep sense of nostalgia every time I sit down to play, write, or just jam out on one. But guitar feels different in a really special way, and it almost feels like a melodic and rhythmic extension of myself. I honestly think some of my strongest songwriting happens on guitar.
I also want to give a huge credit to my mixing engineer and bandmate Doug Gallo, who is the guitarist from my other dark rock project Giveth. He played guitar on these songs, and he’s an incredible player who really helped bring some grit and texture back into the pop production. I knew from the beginning that I wanted guitar throughout this record as a way to balance the synths with something more raw, and he nailed it.
My go-to guitar, and the one I wrote most of these songs on, is my Taylor acoustic. There’s something so lush and full about their sound, and I’ve always loved the honesty and openness that comes with writing on an acoustic guitar.
Sonically Two Fools has a lovely, striking arrangement. What inspired this stark choice?
I really wanted “Two Fools” to feel like the big pop anthem of the record. While making this album, I was heavily inspired by Phil Collins—especially his work on the Tarzan soundtrack. Songs like “Son of Man” and “Strangers Like Me” have these massive, soaring vocal melodies that feel timeless. It’s undeniably great songwriting supported by huge, emotional production, and I was really channeling that energy into this single in a slightly more modern way.
Do you handle keyboard duties when you are away from playing with The Hottman Sister or Giveth? And what gear do you use? It’s hard not to love that pulsing analog warmth in your songs, especially say Surf the Dawn.
I also want to give a huge shoutout to my recording and producing partner, Joel Martin. He’s a true synth wizard, and we used a lot of his setup on these songs—Moog and Korg to name a few specific pieces, blended with some of my own lo-fi GarageBand sounds (lol) and some midi sounds. We’re both synth lovers, so a lot of our process is just getting in a room, experimenting with keyboard sounds and melodies, and following whatever feels exciting. Classic studio behavior.
We’ll often drift pretty far into left-field territory sonically, before eventually circling back to something more immediate and accessible, but I really value that Joel is never afraid to push things into unexpected places. He’s an insanely talented player.
What’s the story behind your song Quiet Girl Next Door?
Quiet Girl Next Door captures what it’s like to be a woman in the male-dominated music industry—and in any male-dominated space. It’s about being made to feel less, silenced in big rooms with “important” people, overlooked in favor of less qualified men, and taken advantage of for talent and beauty. It’s about men telling you how to do your work while watching you do it better, mistaking your kindness as permission to overstep. But it’s also about women rising up, showing their fangs, and biting back.
Finally, before I let you go. What is a musical boundary you haven’t yet crossed, but are eager to explore next?
I’m really looking to incorporate more of my own guitar playing into my upcoming music, and I want to explore a more raw, open style of production that feels less heavily layered and polished. That’s the creative boundary I’m most interested in pushing right now.
Rearview Mirror 
0 comments on “Interview: Jessica Hottman is poised to redefine pop on her own terms. ”