Kevin Bronson on August 12th, 2019

0

Hana Vu vaulted to a place high on the list of high-achieving teenagers last summer when she released the EP “How Many Times Have You Driven By,” a work of keen insight and undeniable musicality. The EP also led to the discovery of the audacious full-length that preceded it in 2016, “Sensitive.” How did we miss that party?

Speaking of parties, Vu is 19 now, in the full throes of a youth spent knowing too much. Just listen to what she says about her songwriting: “I’ve come to realize that the reason I make music is because it is inherent to me — I need to write in order to process my existence — but the reason I release music is completely separate: I just want attention. I know from living here that I’m never going to stop wanting more.” She is joking, but only kinda.

And speaking of parties, the title of Vu’s new single is “At the Party,” a tune she says is about “spite and how truly meaningless it is.” It comes via a Peter Rosati-directed video in which Vu is most certainly not enjoying the party. And the song is the first single from the double EP titled “Nicole Kidman / Anne Hathaway,” due Oct. 25 via Luminelle Records.

For Vu, a DIY artist who produces her own music — the forthcoming release is the first she has even had mixing (Robert Szmurlo) help — it might seem curious that she would name works for two A-listers. She explains:

“Absorbing the way these women dissect their craft and how they see themselves as artists influenced these songs,” Vu says. “I’m super-interested in the big-break mentality: We idolize these celebrities, but I’ve always been trying to understand what they were like before they were famous. All of a sudden they get their big break — and now they’re fine, and great forever, and they’re legends. I had that idealization about the entertainment industry. These actresses were like, inspiration, slash aspiration, slash delusion.”

||| Watch: The video for “At the Party”

||| Live: Hana Vu performs Saturday at Echo Park Rising (5:40 p.m. at the Echo). She also opens for Nilüfer Yanya on Oct. 2 at the Lodge Room (tickets).