Sarah Cosgrove started writing her own songs in what was originally planned as a solo singer songwriter desire, Low Girl came together when she changed her thoughts when joined by her brother Tom Cosgrove (drums), bassist/guitarist Bradley Taylor and keyboardist Toby Morgan.

They have been together for about seven years releasing singles and EP's but are now on the brink of unveiling the debut album called Is It Too Late To Freak Out?. Return To Sound spoke to Sarah Cosgrove and Bradley Taylor:

Return To Sound: “I saw you, I think it was supporting Pompoko, who I really liked and by chance, got to see you as well in Portsmouth, and at the time, I'll be honest with you, it didn't hit me instantly, though later on I played your songs and I kept going back to them, I think that's the good thing, that your songs are quite subtle, “Pockets” and “Icarus”, songs like that, creep up on you, which is quite unusual in today's world of music, normally it's wham bang, blam, look and hear us now! That's a good point to begin, with your sound, is that planned, or just the way it comes out when you're playing together?”

Sarah Cosgrove: “I think it's interesting when you said that it didn't get you straight away, because with live stuff, I think sometimes that is the case with us, because I think that's an area that we're probably more timid, sometimes, not all of us, but I would say that I'm quite timid live, and I think maybe the nuance comes from a slight lack of confidence, and maybe similar to myself, it's like first impressions, maybe not always amazing, but in time it kind of makes sense”.

Bradley Taylor: “Yeah, I think subtlety is definitely something that I think, at least yourself ( to Sarah) Toby and Tom, lean towards in your music tastes, I'm a little bit more blunt in the stuff I listen to, plus the stuff I try and contribute to the band, but yeah, I do appreciate that, I think that's really nice to hear actually, that you think it's subtle, because we often feel a lot of pressure to try and be more in-your-face and attention-grabbing, but it's just not really us”. 

Sarah: “Especially because a lot of people are writing more towards trendable moments, and for that you have to really catch people straight away, and I think that definitely does feel like something that is pushed sometimes. I definitely feel a pressure in writing to adhere to that, but yeah, I think with an album it's nice, because there are some songs where you're definitely thinking more about singles, but the rest of it, let's just do what we want to do, and be ourselves”.

Brad: “Yeah, it was nice to not worry too much about chasing the algorithm, and hitting the unique selling points of the songs, where they need to be at a certain time, and get to the chorus at a certain time, and have a certain number of hooks, etc. So it was nice to be able to work on something bigger, where those songs would arrive, but they weren't kind of the sole focus”. 

RTS: “Following trends is dangerous, isn't it? And you know, I think you're doing great as you are. The live stuff, I mean, it happens, doesn't it? it's all about people liking your music ultimately, and you know, you really don't have to jump around haha”

Brad: “Yeah, that's often the feedback we get, is to say when we'll be supporting a band like Pompoko, who are just incredible in every way, they're amazing songwriters. They tick all the boxes. But when we were touring with them last, it was nice because we'd get maybe one or two people come up and really have an in-depth conversation with us, because the music really connected to them, and in a way, you  appreciate that more than 50 people going great, well done, and then they are gone”.

RTS: “Maybe you’re getting more honesty there, aren't you? Those people are making an effort, because they obviously do connect. On the new album, I've heard  three tracks, “Overgrown”, “No Reasons” and “Handbrake”. I've made a note next to each after a listen through, “Overgrown” is "more groovy sounding" than your previous EPs. “No Reasons”, I've put "more intensity", a bit more in your face? And “Handbrake" sounded "subtle, a gentler more “Low Girl” song". So who did the songwriting and who did what on this album?” 

Sarah: “It's definitely more collaborative than it's ever been. It's interesting, because some of the songs Brad would have brought chords to the group, some of them would have started from an idea I had. And a lot of the time, I'll write the structure and the lyrics. But crucially, if Brad comes up with the chords, it's interesting to write to someone else's chords, it makes you explore ideas that you wouldn't usually. And I think that there was a real balance on this album of everyone's tastes. And we were definitely trying to write more as a group.

Even if those ideas came from one spot, it was rehearsed as a group in a space rather than on a computer. Apart from the old song, “No Reasons”, I think a lot of it, you can kind of tell when you hear it, in the way that some of it was recorded live, that we were trying to work it out together live, so that when it came to performing it, it wouldn't sound too different”. 

Brad: “I still consider Sarah to be the primary songwriter, because Sarah writes all the lyrics, and they're a big part of our music. So a lot of the songs would stem from Sarah  making the demo on her own, and coming up with a basic structure and vocal melodies and chord progressions, and then bringing that to the rest of the band. We add our parts in together, that's been our kind of MO really, probably since the start of Low Girl. But as you say, because we had that breathing space with an album, we were able to experiment with different ways of writing together. And so there'd be songs where me and Tom, the drummer, would have gone away and come up with a structure or idea then record it and let Sarah go away  and think about it to see what she wants to do with it. Some are Sarah and Tom working, the two of them sending each other tracks on Garage Band and adding them on top of each other and different voice notes. There's been different ways that we've done it. It's been really fun to do. But I still regard Sarah as the primary songwriter”.

RTS: “For you, Sarah, you're letting go of your babies, your songs. That must take a little bit of getting used to, or are you feeling quite relieved, to share it around?”

Sarah:  “I think, as this band has gone on, I've got more and more comfortable with relinquishing some control.

I think that there is definitely an element of when you're so emotionally connected to an idea or an experience you've gone through, you do have a vision for where you want it to go. But what's been so lovely is that on this album, what everyone was bringing to the songs, for the most part, was an idea I never would have even thought of, but it was a moment of, oh, yeah, that absolutely compliments what I was trying to say.

It felt like they were communicating with my idea and relating to it through their own instruments. And that was really lovely for me, to just feel that synchronicity of everyone bringing something to the song that made sense. I think it's difficult as I wonder what you guys (Brad and the rest of the band) are thinking when I bring you an idea and how you emotionally relate to it.

But it feels like in the music you make that you do emotionally you connect to what I've done, which is really nice”. 

Brad: “Yeah, I think some of the ideas that Sarah brings connect with the three of us lads more than other people. So let's say Sarah will bring three ideas and each one of us boys will take one of them and go away and think about it afterwards.

But I think you're right, it has taken a lot of time for you (Sarah) to trust us to be able to understand what you're trying to get across and then to be able to compliment what she's trying to say rather than contradict it. I mean we've been writing together I guess since 2018, but as you say it's become more collaborative over the years, I think we've all become better musicians as well”.

RTS: “So 2018 you gelled together, was that all four of you at that point?”

Sarah: “I had finished doing a solo EP and I wanted to do some live performances and I got this little group together and initially it was kind of me and supporting musicians but more and more the lines were very blurred because people were contributing really good ideas and elevating what I was doing. I think there was a moment where I realised that what the boys were bringing was kind of giving me the confidence to think, oh it doesn't just have to be a folk song or a singer-songwriter kind of thing and it can be something bigger than that.

I think it was 2021 when we started as Low Girl rather than as my previous name. And that was when every decision from then on all the band had to feel good about and even with this album name, three of us agreed on it, one person didn't”. 

Brad: “Well, we still don't really know whether we'll be able to record a second album, so we wanted to make sure that with this one, everyone felt comfortable and happy with the decisions that were made, the name and the album cover and stuff like that. 

Basically, Sarah's being nice, I invited myself into the band. I was friends with her brother, Tom, the drummer, and I heard the solo EP that you'd made. And I was like, I want to be in that band!”

Sarah: “So your brashness is very useful when we go to venues, you need someone who's just going to be like, I'm Brad”. 

RTS: “You're very right, you need someone who's going to jump in, in any situation, because you don't know who it is, you always need a mixture in a band. It's that chemistry, isn't it? It's a good attitude to say this could be your one and only album, because you don't know, and that's the attitude to have, make it as good as you can?” 

Brad: “Yeah, well we're not Spring Chickens, I'm 30 now, I'm going to be 31 in a couple of weeks, and you're 30 next year (to Sarah)”.

Sarah: “Everyone's thinking about those next milestones, so you've got to think, can we keep everyone in this”.

RTS: “So the album name, Is It Too Late To Freak Out, what's the thinking behind that? And is that the name that someone disagreed with, or have you adapted it?”

Sarah: “That was the one we were all able to agree on. It's the opening line of the opening track, which we thought was kind of cool, because when we're playing it live, you kind of open with that question.

I think that is about being in too deep with something, having committed so much time to it, which I think a lot of people in their 20s, late 20s, can maybe relate to, because you're starting to form relationships. They could go either way, you could invest a lot of time into it, and then it could end, and then you're left, my God, did I just spend all that time doing this? I think I was trying to capture that feeling of, am I in too deep? Is there a way to recover this? And I think it also relates to the general sense of existential doom with everything going on in the world.

Is there a point of taking back control? There's a powerlessness to that statement”. 

RTS: “It's the times we're living in. You can't pretend it's not going on, can you? And I still think COVID had such an effect on everybody and the whole world, particularly Europe. We don't know what normal is anymore. People have got to try and come up with something that's positive. And it's not always easy”.

Brad: “I think we get to that at the end of the album”.

Sarah: “Yeah, we wanted to end on a note that despite all this turmoil, there was a mantra of the things that matter. And that's the final track, which was nearly the name of the album. Yeah, that was going to be the title”.

RTS: “So you've got a tour coming up and you previously toured with Pompoko. Is there anyone else you've been around the country with?” 

Sarah: “Octoberdrift, they really took us under their wing with how to run your merch. They were so, so kind to us”. 

Brad: “We did a whole tour with them in October of 2022. That was the first time we'd ever done 11 shows. It was crazy for us to do that many shows in the space of a couple of weeks and to go on that whole journey with them and seeing the country and seeing the way people connected to their music and their live performances was very inspirational. So yeah, it's a shame to see them ending, but they made an impact on a lot of people's lives, which is cool”.

Sarah: “Similarly to Pompoko, we've seen some really great bands. I think Pompoko and Octoberdrift, if you go on tour with them, there's no night where it's like, oh, I want to say we've seen them now twice, let's go eat dinner. It was every night we wanted to watch their show”. 

Brad: “Yeah, it was a privilege. I mean, Pompoko, I think they're some of the best musicians I've ever seen”.

RTS: I absolutely agree. Yeah, I'll go and see them as much as I can, mind-blowing, absolutely mind-blowing”.

Sarah: “We've been very lucky with the bands we've supported because there's been so much to look up to and learn from”.

Brad: “Yeah, we've done the odd Show with some really big bands like Sprints and The Murder Capital. 

RTS: Well, hopefully with the album, when it picks up, there'll be some offers for the next tour maybe? On that front, who would you love to support in a fantasy world?”

Brad: “A band that I absolutely love and who I think is actually attainable for us to support is a band called Fickle Friends, who I absolutely love and have loved since the year we started playing together.

They've been a bookmark for me whenever they've released music. It's a good way for me to remember where we have been. And they're an incredible live band as well, also incredible musicians.

I find them very inspirational in that they write pop music, but don't try to follow trends. They write music that's very catchy to me and enjoyable, but don't seem to want to be chasing around trying to get Radio One plays every time they release something. But yeah, my favourite band ever is Bloc Party.

So if I could support them, I don't know if I'd ever want to do anything else after that”. 

RTS: “What about you, Sarah?”

Sarah: “I think it's so hard”

RTS: “Well, this is imaginary. It's what you'd love to happen?”

Sarah: “That's my classic overthinking. I would love to support Alvvays.

I talk about Alvvays all the time. Yeah, a big inspiration. Yeah, to get to see them for free a bunch more would be really cool.

I just love what they do”.

Brad: “I mean, I think bands like Bombay Bicycle Club and Vampire Weekend as well. I mean, they're stratospheric in terms of supporting them, then we wouldn't be worrying about anything else”. 

RTS: “Do all four of you live near each other? Or have you all moved into London and done the usual thing?”

Sarah: “ No, weirdly not. Even though Brad, you're from Leighton, we've all kind of moved in and around Berkhamstead, but Toby lives in Northamptonshire now. But we do still manage to rehearse”.

Brad: “Does a lot of driving, bless him. Yeah”. 

Sarah: “I know bands who live further away who make that work”.

Brad: “Yeah, it's funny because when we have bios done and people bill you on festivals, they say that we're Bedford based, which is funny I mean, it feels like our hometown because that's where our manager, Gareth, runs Esquires (Music Venue) in Bedford. That's also where we played the most and him being the sort of glue that holds us together. I met Tom at Lincoln Uni and you (to Sarah) met Toby at Lincoln Uni as well.

So that's kind of a home and away to us, but we've actually never played a gig there because it's a terrible music scene. Lincoln. Yeah, unfortunately not enough venues”. 

Sarah: “There's not many venues directly around here either”. 

RTS “I'm trying to think of bands from that area?”.

Brad: “Well, I grew up on the Thameslink line, so I would go between Bedford and St Albans. Bedford was Don Broco and St Albans was Enter Shikari. So those were the two bands from those two towns either side of me, when I was in high school, everyone would go and see at SUs and smaller venues nearby.

So they've been like a massive inspiration to me in terms of seeing someone that grew up so close to where you're from making it that big. It makes it feel a little bit more attainable.

None of us ever lived in London because we kind of grew up just on the periphery.

We never felt the need to”.

RTS: “So, a lot of bands at your stage would think, we've got to go to London, that's the scene, we've got to break ourselves there. And that could change how you sound?”

Sarah: It would. You're so right. It is interesting how it's shaped some bands moving to the city.

I know that Jockstrap wrote a lot about being in the city. I assume they were looking at London and you could see how it shaped their writing for a time. It's interesting.

It does change what you're going to write”. 

Brad: “Yeah, 100%. I just don't feel like we've ever felt cool enough to be a London band.

Every time we play a London show, we're playing with London bands. Same with Brighton, though”. 

RTS: Yeah, very much. And Bristol. Yeah, Bristol's got so many bands, they're everywhere at the moment. It happens, I suppose.

Brad: “I mean, part of me thinks maybe, yeah, if we had all, after uni, gone and tried to live in London and immersed yourself more in the music scene, I'm sure that there's definitely advantages to doing that. It's just actually incredibly difficult to put up, really.

Without having a load of money thrown at you, to establish yourself. I don't think that we've not been sincere in what we've become because of that, though".

RTS: Exactly. That's my point. You're still humble. You're still grounded, etc.

Brad: We're the humblest people in the world. Exactly.

RTS: That's the next album title. “Am I still humble?” So, are you still having fun? Are you enjoying this circus that is music?” 

Sarah: “Yeah, I think so. I attribute some of the funniest memories I've had in my 20s to doing this. I think there's no way I'd take it back. It's such a privilege to do it with the three of you as well (to Brad). I feel like you're bonded in a way that no one else will truly understand, just through the very silly experiences. Yeah, some of the journeys are just hysterical”.

Brad: The situations you find yourself in and the things you talk about when you get back in the car at the end of the gig and you're decompressing and just catching up about what everyone thought and what everyone made of the night. I don't know what I would have done with my 20s, to be fair”.

RTS: “Do you see yourself getting to album number 10 in the future? The big prog album that's coming up or whatever people do?”

Sarah: “Bob loves his prog because of your dad”

Brad: “Yeah, Toby would love it as well. We'd be playing gigs and people would be screaming at us, “play the songs from the first album!”. We'd be like, no.

Yeah, I hope so. You are an absolute song machine, Sarah, so you'd have to write 10 albums to get them all out?” 

Sarah: I think in some capacity we'll all be connected by this, even moments where we have time away after a tour, say we have a few months off, when you then get back into the rehearsal room it's always like, oh, I've really missed this”

Brad: “I think life will catch up with us eventually. I'm getting married next year. We'll just become a wedding band, won't we? Yeah, we'll just have to start doing weddings.

More money in it. We've never played a cover, by the way, ever once. Never done one cover. Not live, anyway”.

Sarah: Yeah, we did during lockdown, trying to, come out of it. I think we did Grimes and something else. A Christmas cover”.

Brad: “Christmas cover of a Sufjan Steven's song”

RTS: “Sadly, he's not in a good way, health wise”

Sarah: “Yeah, he's not, hopefully he gets better”.

RTS: “ Yeah, absolutely, he's probably the subtlest musician I can think of. We're talking so subtle as if it was an art, you don't know where the melody is going, amazing isn't it?”

Brad: “People like him are the closest thing that you've got to Mozart really, where they have the piece of art in their heads already. I think there are not many of those, are there?” 

RTS: “Is there music you'd listen to, just say you've had a terrible day, no doesn't have to be terrible actually just you come home and need to relax, what would be your go to artist or even piece of music? just the first one that pops into your head?”

Brad: "I've been listening to a band called Balance and Composure a lot over the last couple of years and they're a US band I think they kind of fall under the post hardcore, slash, Midwest, emo category but they strike that delicate balance between aggression and vulnerability and so they for me have got a couple of tracks that really hit home when I'm pissed off. I have been  listening to them a lot over the last couple of years so that would be my choice”.

Sarah: I think for me there's a band called Sales which is hard to search because if you just get loads of sales. If I just need to really chill out that's my go-to because it just calms my brain. It's very straightforward, there's always just a nice guitar hook. It's lo-fi and I find it really comforting and it just puts me in a better mood and it gets me out of overthinking mode. It's really good for that, yeah he's really great”.

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The debut album by Low Girl is Is It Too Late To Freak Out?, set to be released on October 24, 2025

Interview for Return To Sound by Dan Reddick