Having released debut album The Haze Is Forever in 2015, Stockholm natives Dolores Haze have had quite a year. Summer single “Banana” – a frank rejection of unsolicited dick pics – blew up, simultaneously garnering widespread praise for its message and quirky visuals, and being voted ‘Most Hated Song on Youtube 2018’, a title which the group wear as a badge of honour.

This is characteristic of a trio who don’t care if you love or hate them. In refreshingly Rock’n’Roll fashion, the only thing that matters for Dolores Haze is that they male the music they want to make, no matter what anyone thinks. We chatted to lead singer and bassist Groovy Nickz , guitarist Lucky Lollo and drummer Foxy Sagz about self-confidence, their roots, and buying a band dog.

How did it all begin for you guys?
LL: I always liked music. When I was seven, I sang in the school choir and enjoyed music. You know, when you’re little, you want to become this and that when I grow up.
GN: I have this one memory from when I was like 8 or 9. We usually went to Iran for the summers to visit my grandma, and I always got to pick like a DVD to bring with me. So we went to the DVD store, and I chose a karaoke DVD with loads of 90s song on it, and I kept singing the same like ten or twelve songs that were on that
CD for like the whole vacation. From that I found out that I loved singing – it was such a cool moment.
FS: My dad used to subscribe to this music magazine, and he came home and brought this CD that he got as a free gift with the magazine. It was a live show with the band Bloc Party, and I was just glued to it for a day, I was like “oh my god, I need to join a band.”.

What sort of artists were you listening to when you were younger?
LL: Me and groovy are huge fans of Green Day-
GN: – we met on a Green Day forum! When we were like eleven, we were at the same Green Day concert!
FS: Avril Lavigne for me…emo music.

How did you come to be Dolores Haze?
GN: First me and [former band member] Groovy Fuck formed a band. We then figured we needed a drummer; we didn’t know any drummers, so we put up ads in the street saying “DRUMMER WANTED.” We’d seen it in films. First there was this ten-year-old boy called William – we missed his first call, so we called him back and left him loads of voicemails. Then, several days after, Saga [Foxy Sagz] called, and we were like “yes, finally!” She came to band practice the week after, and that same week me and Lucky met at a concert.”
LL: I was looking for a band because I played a lot of guitar. I went up to Groovy and said “I hear you have a band…are you looking for a guitarist?” Then it just happened.

Tell us a little bit about the name.
GN: I’d watched the movie Lolita – the main character is called Dolores Haze, so we watched it together and decided that should be the band name.

Your sophomore album, Play Hard F*ck Hard Love Hard, came out in October – can you tell us a little bit more about the themes that run through it?
LL: In Swedish we say “two red threads”, which basically means two themes. One is heartbreak, sadness, loneliness, so there are a couple of those sad songs. The other is partying, having fun, being reckless…those things just sum us up. We’ve always liked a lot of different types of music, and always had both of those side.

Do you have a favourite track or favourite lyric? And if so, why?
LL: Mine is “Watch It Burn”, the last track. It’s six minutes long. I was so so sad when I wrote it, and went to the studio with a melody, but I think it came out much better…I’m very emotional about that song.
GN: The lyrics to the title track, “Play Hard Love Hard F*ck Hard”, are the ones that mean the most to me. I wrote the song when I was in quite a bad place, and I feel like it sums up the past years for me.
FS: Mine’s from “Flip”: “life is fun when you’re having fun”.
GN: That’s the best rhyme I ever wrote (laughs).

Who do you look up to in the industry?
LL: Princess Nokia is a huge inspiration for all of us. A lot of my friends are also great musicians, and they inspire me a lot.
GN: I’m listening to The Kills a lot at the moment. I also love Kreayshawn, she had this song called Gucci Gucci from this album which is so weird and so good.
LL: I mostly actually listen to Swedish acts – Teddy Bears, Busu…I listen to him a lot.
FS: I listen a lot to Lykke Li, and Robyn’s new album. I didn’t realize they’d do such good follow-up albums!

Your visuals are awesome – the Banana video especially caused a lot of conversation. Do you guys like to be in charge of that side of things?
FS: I directed the “Banana” video with a friend, so I guess we got to decide everything ourselves, which was so much fun.
LL: That’s always been a big part for us, aside from the music. We do our own artwork, our own logos, videos, photo-shoots…yeah.

You guys aren’t afraid to be politically outspoken in your music and visuals…do you think more artists should use their platform to do the same?
FS: I think it’s important, but I don’t think it should be forced on them. We were talking about Tove Lo singing about drugs and saying, you know, “that’s bad”, but I think it’s important that you don’t have to be a ‘good girl’ all the time. At the same time, you look at Childish Gambino and “This Is America”, and you see that it’s great to use your platform.
GN: If you feel like you have something to say, you should go for it.

What have you learned in the 3 years since you released your debut album?
LL: I really liked the DIY thing. We come from DIY, and we’ve always been DIY, but now I think I’m rediscovering the DIY, and really admire friends and artists who do it themselves. It’s good to work with great people, but the most important thing is to be self-dependent.
GN: I agree. We’ve grown so much – we were all teens when wer released the first album – and now I think we’ve learned a lot about self-reflection, and self-growth, and coming back to the DIY scene, like Lucky said.
LL: I also think we’ve got more self-confidence, and more confidence in our creativity. When you’re a new act, people, sometimes people you admire, tend to have opinions, and sometimes you think “maybe they’re right about that.” As we’ve grown older, we’ve become more confident, and know when things are right, because this is our art.

If you could each give one piece of advice to someone starting out in the industry, what would it be?
LL: Listen to yourself, you’re always right.
GN: And have a good lawyer when you sign any contracts!

What’s next for you guys?
FS: We’re finishing our tour, then we’re gonna sit down in the studio, and play more. Play hard.
GN: And then we’re gonna get a dog! And a car! What would the name of the dog be?
FS: Bitch.
GN: Yes, bitch! Tiny bitch.