We chat to Swedish indie-rock group Girl Scout ahead of their gig at The Bodega

Girl Scout are the kind of band that feel familiar, like they've been part of the scene for many years, such is their easy confidence and tight chemistry. But with only three EPs released to date, they're still getting started. Formed in Stockholm during Covid lockdown by fellow jazz musicians and students Emma Jansson (vocals/guitar) and Viktor Spasov (guitar), with the addition of bassist Evelina Arvidsson Eklind and drummer Per Lindberg, the four-piece are now tight knit, experienced and, above all, excited about the niche they're carving out. Their music is strong and pushy: fresh, innovative indie-rock built on skilful musicianship and razor-sharp lyrics. 

Ahead of Girl Scout’s UK tour, vocalist and guitarist Emma is energised and more than ready to hit our country’s stages, including one of Nottingham’s best loved: The Bodega. Girl Scout last performed in Nottingham in May 2024 (as part of Dot To Dot Festival): their blazing thirty-minute set left a lasting impression on those who saw it, and on the band, too. 

"That was a great gig - and the sound was really good there. We had a lot of fun!" Emma enthuses. 

Girl Scout's Headache EP was released in November 2024: a four-track record which showcases the band's punchy music and points to confident direction of travel. 

"It seems this EP has been the most well-received, and we've also done almost all of it ourselves,” says Emma. “It's really encouraging for us to know that our own ideas are good enough, and it translates to the audience. It's been really rewarding." 

Now that the EP has bedded in, the band are excited about taking it on the road. 

"We haven't been to the UK since we released the EP, and it'd be remiss if we didn't take every opportunity we can to come and play for you guys," says Emma. 

"Being on tour is like being on a terribly planned trip," Emma continues, with some sadness. "Some days you'll go somewhere and it's beautiful. We played Paris in the summer with Alvvays and we had two hours of free time... we got a croissant and played the show, and then we left. And sometimes you arrive so late you're basically in the venue for the whole day." 

The Girl Scout tour takes in ten cities in England and Scotland, and Emma explains why the band is spending so much time here. 

"In the UK the audiences are so good - they're so social and open, and genuinely interested," she says. "There's a crowd for it and there's genuine interest in it... In Sweden, it's still very much a sub-culture I'd say." 

Our city – which features in the middle of the upcoming tour – is one which seems already to have left a mark on the band. 

"I remember Nottingham clearly because we had the whole day there... we went to a rock pub which had a pinball machine and a photo booth!" Emma says. "It was really nice. We had a really great day in Nottingham. It's a beautiful city and fun to walk around." 

"And I really wanted to try Jollibee," she adds. "It's fun to try local things of course, but I'm so chronically online that I always see clips of people trying chain food so I want to try that sort of thing, too" 

As the band returns to The Bodega, what can people expect from a Girl Scout show? 

"I've heard a lot of people say they're surprised that the live show is a bit heavier than the recordings," Emma muses. "We're a pretty energetic live act... We think it's really fun so hopefully that translates back to the audience. It's just a good old-fashioned rock show! If you like that sort of thing, then you should go." 

Girl Scout plans to release an album (their debut LP) in late autumn 2025, and Emma reveals that new material is still under development. 

"We're in a very creative state right now, which is fun," says Emma. "We haven't recorded anything yet – we have a couple of songs we know we want on the album, but there are a couple of songs yet to be written, to make it what we want it to be." 

Many artists take a more compartmentalised approach to the musical cycle: a few months of touring alternating with a period of time further away from public view as they focus on writing and recording. But Girl Scout – a band brimming over with creativity – are mixing their work, planning new songs while spending plenty of time performing, too. This creates more room for the band to showcase potential new songs in front of an audience, and for inspiration which strikes while on the road to find its way on to a studio recording. 

"We get a lot of ideas on tour as well, like during soundcheck when there's downtime. It's fun when you get those little moments when everyone's in the zone," says Emma. 

As a result, the upcoming tour is likely to feature never-before-heard songs, she suggests. 

"We're thinking of trying some stuff that's hopefully going to be on the album – sneaking a few unreleased tracks in there. But it's a mystery to me even, which ones it will be!

”It's fun to play it by ear a little bit, like it doesn't feel too calculated," Emma continues. "And it's fun to play a little hidden gem... or a hidden piece of trash depending on how the song turns out!" she laughs. 

That idea of fun is one which keeps coming up in conversation with Emma, and one which is almost tangible when hearing Girl Scout play. 

"If you didn't love it, it wouldn't be worth it. It's not easy being a musician, and financially it's borderline impossible. It's not a great career choice if you don't enjoy it, but luckily we do and it's really rewarding," Emma says. 

You can catch that spirit when Girl Scout perform at The Bodega on Tuesday 11 February. Tickets are available here.

Emma is more than open to local recommendations, so be sure to catch up with her and the band at the gig and pass on your Nottingham tips! 

@girlscouttheband