New York trio Tchotchke met in the high school locker room, back in 2014 — though their sound and aesthetic far predates that fateful moment. Between Anastasia Sanchez, Eva Chambers, and Emily Tooraen, though their music is played through the prism of modern-day shoegaze-infused guitar-pop, it is ultimately rooted in their shared love of the Beach Boys, Todd Rundgren’s pop sensibilities, and inspired by the sonic landscape of ’60s girl groups like the Shangri-Las. Steadfastly hooky and saccharine, the trio leave room for both riffage and satire while speaking to themes of independence and womanhood.
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Their latest album, Playin’ Dumb, does all of that and more. As one might gather from its name, the LP continues to embrace femininity through hyperbolic caricatures, leaning into tropes of high drama, “yapping,” and romance. Produced by another vintage-inspired success story, the Lemon Twigs, the album sees the trio’s sound evolving and leveling up, wandering through guitar-driven rock to bluesy territories, all from their unique pop perspective. We sat down with Tchotchke to talk about “diva rock,” gossip, and literal tchotchkes.
Ambar Navarro
Your new album, Playin’ Dumb, is produced by the Lemon Twigs. How did the collaboration influence your sound and growth as a band? What was it like working with them?
EVA CHAMBERS: Working with the Lemon Twigs has definitely pushed us to become stronger musicians, songwriters, and vocalists. They make everything look so easy, which is both inspiring and frustrating. I first met Michael [D’Addario] 10 years ago, the basis of our friendship being a shared enthusiasm for the same artists. Our tastes have stayed pretty consistent since then, which makes collaborating on an album together very fun and efficient.
You’ve described Playin’ Dumb as embodying hyperfeminine caricatures and girl-group personas — could you elaborate on how you formed these personas, and how they evolved during the album’s development?
ANASTASIA SANCHEZ: It’s impossible to escape labels that are projected onto you — in our case, “girl band.” This time, we embraced it. It’s easy to obsess over the outcome of the album and how it will be perceived, but that’s how we learn and grow. All that being said, these personas are just… us. Of course, we like to keep it a bit dramatic. That’s diva rock.
There’s a tongue-in-cheek attitude around the messages in this album. “Poor Girl” feels like a good example of this — how do you balance satire and sincerity?
CHAMBERS: The band itself is a balancing act of seriousness and playfulness, which naturally shows up in the writing. We’re three best friends, but also lifelong business partners. Working on this new album taught us that taking songwriting too seriously can be draining and creatively limiting. Our best ideas come out when we’re just having fun, goofing off, and not overthinking it. I think our personalities and sense of humor are pretty evident in the writing.
Ambar Navarro
Also, the visuals for this song are clearly very thoughtful. How do you, as a band, approach visual storytelling?
EMILY TOORAEN: Thank you! Creating the “Poor Girl” dimension was especially enjoyable after spending a lot of time writing the song and building the “Poor Girl” characters together. Even though their stories are only a few phrases long, we indulged in fabricating each of their little worlds and characteristics. A lot of our visuals for this song in particular were inspired by a desire to lean into hyperfeminine, colorful imagery. The integral animation element of the video, made possible by our friends Kaila Chambers and Hilla Eden, also opened up endless visual opportunities and “fates,” including stomping rabbits, cigarette hair fires, and jail with stuffed animals. The giant props and the drum set with braids really made it all feel like a scene straight out of some wacky storybook… I think we really just allowed ourselves to have fun with it. Overall, Eva created a sensational winding world for this album with the trip through the game board. Her and Anastasia are both top-tier artists. I’m consistently inspired by what they both come up with.
What’s the story behind the title track, and how does it relate to the album’s overarching themes?
CHAMBERS: We chose this as the title track before writing it. The goal was to keep the lyrics and arrangement intentionally “dumb” and simple — which made the writing process quick, easy, and really fun. It’s about shrinking yourself to protect someone else’s oversized sense of pride. Michael nailed the big, Spector-esque production style, making it the perfect dramatic closer. Beyond the song itself, the title ties everything together — capturing the album’s themes of playfulness, sarcasm, and the board game, of course.
Ambar Navarro
There’s character-building across this album. You’ve mentioned creating three distinct persona lines in “Poor Girl” — where else is there role play in your work? On that note, are you all yourselves when you are onstage, or do you show up as alter egos?
SANCHEZ: We made up tons of different characters writing “Poor Girl.” After picking through and deciding our final verses, we realized we could just be parodying ourselves. So that’s what we did! We’ve only ever approached fictional character writing, so making it more personal was so much fun. I do wish I had an alter ego onstage, but I am a terrible actress.
There’s been mention of a board game included in the vinyl release — what does it involve? How did that concept come into fruition?
CHAMBERS: Yes! The vinyl features a playable “tchotchke-sized” (12×12 insert) game board along with buildable pawns, rules, instructions, and 20 album-themed challenge cards. The I Spy-like cover photo, shot by Max Flick, features some items you might need to play the game, such as chocolate milk and lipstick. If you buy the record in person at a show, we’ll give you a miniature pair of yellow dice to play it with. I first had the idea for a playable board game vinyl around two years ago after writing “The Game,” but didn’t want to stifle the creative process by establishing an album concept so early on. Eventually, we saw how the songs could all relate back to “choosing your next move” and the art of playing dumb. I had to have rib surgery earlier this year, so there was lot of bedridden time to focus on the details. The game was carefully drawn and planned as the songs and recordings were still being finished. Emily wrote a lot of the card prompts, each one inspired by a different track. Overall, we wanted the album to feel inviting and playful, and creating an interactive experience seemed like a great way to do so!
Your music blends Merseybeat drums, kaleidoscopic pop riffs, and girl-group harmonies. Do you see the album as a modern love letter to retro pop, and how do you balance vintage influence with your unique voice? Would you even call the sound “vintage”?
SANCHEZ: We recorded directly to tape, which gives our music that warm analog sound. The word vintage is thrown around a lot, and I’m never sure if it has anything to do with the music as much as the way we dress. I was in an orchestra and choir in middle school and loved the theatrics of it all. I always thought my voice was too silly, but those years had a huge impact on finding what worked for me. That’d be considered antique music.
Ambar Navarro
From the opening “The Game” to the final title track, how do you want listeners to experience the arc of Playin’ Dumb? Is there a narrative thread or evolving mood crafted intentionally in the tracklisting?
TOORAEN: The sentiment we’ve all shared throughout the process of creating this album is that we want listeners to feel invited to walk through Tchotchkeland; for it to feel like playing a board game one song at a time. The physical game is included with the vinyl to bring listeners as close to this experience as possible. Femininity, gossip, possessiveness, and the commonalities we share as women are all threads that run through the album. As I’ve listened back to the album in its entirety, the evolving sense of our camaraderie — as a band and as friends — stands out to me as one of its strengths. Arriving at “Goodbye,” we affirm our dedication to each other, and with the final “Playin’ Dumb,” we embrace the comicality that holds us together.
What would you say the top five influences on this album were?
TOORAEN: The top five influences on this album were girl groups — including the Shangri-Las, the Ronettes, the Toys, and many more — our personal collections of tchotchkes and dream pets, Milton Bradley, I Spy, and true stories we’ve shared with our friends and each other.
Photographer: Ambar Navarro
Lighting Design: Max Flick
Styling and Location: Kiki Stash
Hair: Gabriella Mancha
MUA: Kayli Rachelle
MUA Assistant: Aurora De Leon
