Half Gringa

Ancestral Home EP
(January 27, 2023)

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“Half Gringa balances stadium-filling balladry and modest Midwestern alt-rock.” — The FADER

“There are few artists who can make introspection so vividly rendered...[Force To Reckon’s] propulsive energy culminates in the cinematic, string-laced, and mournful closer 'Forty,' one of the most beautiful songs of the year." — Vice/Noisey

“The Midwest’s Breakout Pondering Latina Poet…combines Mitski‘s emotional wit with Katy Kirby‘s mesmerizing lilt” — Uproxx

"The Chicago singer/songwriter puts into melody a poetic reflection of the different identities within herself, plus the places, feelings, and experiences that have shaped her…all set to the sound of a cloudy alt-rock-informed indie pop instrumental" — Remezcla

“A balance of orchestral folk, midwestern grunge-rock, and Latinx pop, anchored by the incisive, introspective lyrics she writes, unsurprising from a poetry major.” — Cinnamon Mag

“A clear and present voice that sounds world-weary and mature” — Chicago Tribune

“10 Best Chicago Albums 2017” — Chicago Magazine

“100 Best Chicago Records of the 2010s” — Chicago Reader

“The sustained brilliance of the lyrics is just flat-out exhilarating…Half Gringa continues her exploration of her bicultural heritage with a bravura blend of indie-folk incisiveness and Latinx pop sheen.” — NewCity

Emerging from Chicago’s flourishing indie music scene, Half Gringa blends contemporary indie-rock and Latinx pop with midwestern folk. “When you grew up in the Midwest really into alternative rock, but heard a lot of country music in the supermarket,” offers Isabel Olive, the songwriter and multi-instrumentalist at the core of Half Gringa, when asked to place her music in a specific genre. “Or when your mom loved Bruce Springsteen and Maná and sometimes your brain starts playing them at the same time.” The name Half Gringa is both a tribute to and study of her legacy, stemming from a childhood term of endearment as “la Gringa” in her Venezuelan family and her bicultural experience growing up in the United States. Olive's work seeks to narrate her tireless pursuit as a pupil of both her origins and her experiences.

The Chicago-based artist’s 2020 sophomore album, Force To Reckon, followed her locally acclaimed debut, Gruñona, which landed on Chicago Magazine’s “10 Best Chicago Albums of 2017” and Chicago Reader’s “Best Chicago Albums of the Decade.” On the self-produced 9-song set, Olive is joined by her full-time band members — Nathan Bojko (drums), Sam Cantor (guitar), Andres Fonseca (bass), Lucy Little (violin) — as well as Ivan Pyzow on trumpet, with occasional harmonies and piano from fellow Chicago singer/songwriter Gia Margaret. Upon release, Vice’s music site Noisey listed Force To Reckon among "22 Essential Albums You May Have Missed in 2020" praising, "There are few artists who can make introspection so vividly-rendered as Olive," with The FADER adding, "Her songcraft strikes a perfect balance between modest Midwestern alt-rock and sweeping balladic melody."

While Half Gringa typically records as a full-band arrangement, her forthcoming Ancestral Home EP (due out January 27, 2023) serves as a more intimate, remote collaboration between Olive, co-producer Nicholas Papaleo (Gia Margaret, Campdogzz), and drummer Abby Black (Lala Lala, Date Stuff). The 5-song set includes recently released standout single “Miranda,” as well as an "achingly tender ballad" (Chicago Reader) called "Sevenwater" that Half Gringa leaked last year.

Of the forthcoming EP, Olive offers, "The process of writing and recording the last two records was way faster, partly because I had my full band collaborators learning and arranging songs I brought to them. But I wrote for so long on my own before I even started playing with a band, and I felt moved to revisit that. I love collaborating, but at heart, I’m very introverted. Having a rich inner life is essential to me, which I think can overlap with both collaboration and solitude. I sense that each project I work on demands something different of me, and I’ve been trying to listen to my own instincts for that more and more. Sometimes it needs to be a party and sometimes it needs to be small, internal observations…Some people have asked why I wouldn’t release this record as a solo project, which I think is funny. Without these kinds of songs, the ones with full band arrangements wouldn’t exist. At its core, it’s me and my creative work, which I’ve named Half Gringa."

Half Gringa On Tour

For more information, please contact:
Jake Lanier
jake@luckybirdmedia.com