Glasgow-based alt-rock trio Her Picture geared up to release their new EP, Feed Me Hope, back this June. The EP’s tracks draw inspiration from the rich tapestry of Greek mythology, specifically the Five Rivers of the Underworld. Formed as part of a free music education programme, the independent band has steadily built a devoted following. In this interview, we speak with lead singer Anny Tahaney about the EP, their creative process, and the mythology that shapes their music.
Welcome to Her Picture
Anny, welcome to Femme Metal Webzine. First of all, I want to thank you for your time. How are you doing, and how has this period been treating you?
Thank you for meeting with me and talking about the EP. I’ve been really looking forward to this. The EP has been out for almost a month and a couple of days, which is absolutely insane—it doesn’t feel that long at all.
The rest of the band and I, plus Finley, have just been on cloud nine. The reception has been unreal, and people have responded so well. We’ve gotten so many compliments, both from listeners and publications, so we couldn’t be more thrilled. It’s been amazing.
From Fauna to Her Picture
For those not familiar with Her Picture, how did the project come about? I know it originally started as a project called Fauna, right?
Yeah, that was our original name. The three of us met at a school music initiative called Behind the Noise. The idea was to get young people into bands, teach them about the music industry, gigging, songwriting, live performance, production, and so on. That’s where we started.
We came from different schools but were placed into the same band, and we just clicked immediately. There was this amazing synergy, and we became quick friends. After the project ended, we decided to keep writing music together. We were only 15 or 16 at the time—still teenagers—so throughout our late teens we played under the name Fauna. It wasn’t too serious because we were still in school and later at university.
It wasn’t until we graduated, around age 21–22, that we formed Her Picture. That’s when it became much more serious—less of a hobby and more of a career aspiration.
The new EP “Feed Me Hope”
So, as you said, Feed Me Hope is about a month old now. When did you start collecting ideas for it?
Well, we started the writing process pretty quickly after releasing our debut. We began in mid-2023, and Katrina, our bassist, brought the original idea to us during a session. Since it’s a concept EP, she suggested using the Five Rivers of Hades as a songwriting stimulus—each river carrying its own meaning. We thought it was a great foundation, so we ran with it. From there, we gradually fleshed the idea out, and the whole project started to take shape. So really, the genesis of the EP began in 2023, and from that point it just grew legs and kept evolving.
The Five Rives of Hades according to Her Picture
Okay, now, you mentioned the concept, which is rooted in Greek mythology and the five rivers of the underworld. In some ways, it also recalls Dante’s Inferno. It’s a very curious and interesting choice, and I’d like to ask: how do you connect the Acheron—and the five rivers as a whole—to the lyrics? It’s quite a unique and peculiar concept, if you don’t mind me saying.
Yeah, no, of course—it’s definitely an unusual topic to choose. It’s not very well known. When people explore Greek mythology, they usually think of figures like Orpheus and Eurydice—something a bit more familiar. The rivers, though, are more obscure, and that’s exactly what made them so interesting to us.
“The rivers, though, are more obscure”
We didn’t start out with a strict idea of this is what it’s going to be about. It was more like: here’s a writing stimulus—what can we do with it? The first song we wrote was Muscle Memory, inspired by Lethe, the river of forgetfulness. I asked myself, what in my life connects to this theme? How can I use this mythological framework to reshape what I want to write about?
At the time, I was working a lot with ideas around the nervous system, trauma, and physical memory. I realized that tied in perfectly. Some things you can try to forget, tuck away in the back of your mind—but your body still remembers. You can drink from this river of forgetfulness, but the imprint remains.
So lyrically, that’s how I borrowed from the mythology: using each river as a framework to shape deeply personal experiences into songs.
The songs “Can’t Think” and “Reasons I Tried”
Okay, well, you know, there are also two songs that are among my favorites: Can’t Think and Reasons I Tried. I found the second one really emotionally raw, while the first feels almost like a game of hide-and-seek with society. Which rivers do these two songs represent?
Can’t Think is inspired by the river Phlegethon—the river of fire. You can really hear that in the production. It has this feisty, fiery energy, especially in Finley’s drumbeat, which was very intentional. When you think of fire, you think of fury, unrest, and anger, and that’s exactly what the song embodies. Like you said, it’s that feeling of being fed up with society.
I often describe it as the moment when your pride is hurt—you get defensive, embarrassed, and lash out. That’s what Can’t Think represents. The whole EP is a journey of breaking down the ego, and here the ego appears in its purest form: bruised, battered, and on the defensive.
A few tracks later, you get to Reasons I Tried. By then, the ego has been completely obliterated. The song is very raw and is based on the river Acheron, the river of woe and misery.
Acheron, Dante and Her Picture
Yeah, the same one from Dante’s Inferno. I still remember studying it in high school—all those lost souls being ferried across by Charon, the demon. In a way, I really like that you chose to draw from this culture, because sometimes we forget how rich Greek and Latin mythology truly are, each offering different perspectives and ways of expression. I find it really fascinating, and I truly want to praise the work you’ve done.
We really appreciate that. Borrowing from and engaging in conversations with different forms of art has always been important in our songwriting. I studied English Literature, so for me, songwriting is part of a much bigger dialogue—one that spans texts, themes, and ideas that have been explored throughout history. Writing songs is like casting your own personal narrative into that vast sea of stories and shared human experiences.
I think it’s so valuable to revisit tales that have already been told and see how you can personally reframe them. Even our band name comes from a Virginia Woolf book, so drawing from literature and narrative traditions has been central to us from the very beginning. That’s why I’m especially glad we had the chance to engage with something as rich and layered as the Five Rivers for this project.
The role of literature in Her Picture
Yeah, and you know, history and literature are so full of meaning and significance that they’re almost limitless. You can reach into them and shape them however you like, molding them to your own perspective. It’s always fascinating to see how the results take form in different ways.
Yeah, definitely. I feel like it really pushed us out of our comfort zone as songwriters, because we were engaging with something so vast and ancient, like you said. It forced us to mature in how we handled the subject matter, and how our voice shaped it into a kind of modern retelling.
What’s amazing is that the common theme running through our version—just as in the original myths—is fear. All of those motifs were tied to human fears about death: war representing grief over dying, forgetfulness tied to the fear of being forgotten, fire raising the question of whether there’s a heaven or if it’s all just hell. That fear, that insecurity of the human condition, was there from the very beginning, and it’s something we tried to stay very true to in our retelling.
Mold emotion into personal expressions
You know, you also mentioned fear and anger—these are some of the most primordial human emotions, the very feelings that countless words and books have been written about. You can start from a psychological perspective, move into sociology, literature, and even religion—there’s almost an endless depth to explore.
I’m always amazed at how artists can take inspiration from literature, reinterpret it, and mold it into their own expression. That ability to transform ideas and emotions into something personal and expansive is truly remarkable.
Yeah, it definitely was. It was such a rich canvas for us to work with, and we feel really lucky that people have responded so positively—really engaging with it, rather than just thinking, “Oh, what a random choice.”
The intro on Her Picture new EP
So, there are also two intros. The first is Styx’s Curse and the second is Fear Like a Father. The function of these intros is important: Styx’s Curse stays at the beginning of the EP, setting the stage, while Fear Like a Father is placed in the middle, serving a different purpose within the flow of the record.
The primary function of the intros was to establish the world-building for the concept. Styx’s Curse sets the scene, establishing the tone and inviting the listener into the universe of the Five Rivers. Calling it Styx’s Curse was very intentional: Styx is the entry point to the underworld and is also known as the river of hate. It’s the only river that is explicitly named, which felt significant from the very beginning.
From the start, we aimed to create a visceral experience, and every production choice was deliberate. The drone at the beginning emulates the calm, steady waters of the river, while the melody winds in a trance-like, hypnotic way—like a boat moving down the stream. As the track progresses, the production becomes more chaotic, with whispers, voices, and subtle insect noises, all to immerse the listener in the atmosphere.
Fear Like a Father serves a complementary function. It bridges Can’t Think, which explores the bruised and defensive ego, to Muscle Memory, which delves deeper into what lies beneath the ego. Fear Like a Father guides the listener through that passage, excavating layers of trauma. The narrating voice, along with the lyrics and the title itself, introduces the thematic depth and sets the scene for the journey through the EP.
Just a digital release?
You know, this album has only been released digitally so far. I’m not sure about the future plans, but are you also considering a physical release? And do you have any plans to do the same for your previous EP, perhaps giving it the CD or LP treatment it deserves?
We would love to do that—it’s definitely on our long-term agenda. It’s just a bit challenging because we’re an unsigned, independent band, so physical releases are harder to manage. We were really fortunate to receive funding to record Feed Me Hope, but funding is difficult to secure, and we didn’t want to stretch resources too far. That’s the only area that took a hit this time.
With label support in the future, and a bit more financial stability, we would absolutely love to release a physical version of the EP.
Through some ideas in for Her Picture
Have you ever considered using Kickstarter or another crowdfunding platform? I think it could be really beneficial for you, though I’m not an expert in the numbers.
I think so. That’s definitely something we’re going to explore 100%, especially because it’s come up more with this EP than the last one. At nearly every show, people are asking if there will be a physical release and whether it’s on our agenda. We’ve discussed it in our meetings and are now looking at the logistics.
If it’s possible in the near future, we would absolutely love to pursue that route. If Kickstarter—or a similar platform—proves feasible, we would definitely go for it. We’ve built a really strong, supportive community, and we know we could rely on them to help make it happen.I think so. I think that is something that we’re going to look into 100% because it’s something that’s actually been brought up with this EP more than the last one. I think every show now we are getting asked, is there going to be a physical release, and is that as that on on your agenda.
So we have actually brought that up in our meetings, and we’ve talked about it. So we’re just kind of looking at the the sort of logistics of it. But if it’s if it’s possible in the near future, we would absolutely love to pursue that, and go down that, that route for sure. And if Kickstarters and are like looking like possible and that they would help.
We would, we would definitely go down that route, because we’ve definitely gathered a really strong community that are very kind and very helpful, and so we would definitely be able to rely on some really good people to help us along the way.
Physical is THE format that deserves
Yeah, I would really like that. I think this EP deserves the proper attention in a physical format. I’ve listened to it on Spotify, even though I pay for premium, but I’m not a huge fan of streaming. I much prefer buying releases physically when I can. I mostly use Spotify when I’m traveling on trains and want to listen to music on the go, because otherwise it’s hard to fully enjoy an album. That said, I really do think this EP deserves a physical release—it was clearly produced with that in mind.
Thank you—that really means a lot. This is quite a dramatic EP, and everything from start to finish was very intentional. It’s nice to hear people say it deserves a physical release because it shows they understand the vibe and the bigger picture we were aiming for. So yeah, that really means a lot, and we’re definitely going to explore physical releases for sure.
Next live plans for Her Picture
Anny, I wanted to ask—you have a few dates coming up, including one in Edinburgh, right? After that, what are your plans in terms of touring?
So the latter half of the year is going to be sort of full of us doing our first sort of like tours. We’re going to be doing our first UK tour in November, which is very exciting. So it’s still very much in the preliminary planning sort of stage. Yeah, that is definitely what we’re going to be doing. And we’ll have some new music out as well for the end of the year, and corresponding with those shows as well. And so before that, we’ve got, it’s not announced yet, but we have another wide days showcase in Edinburgh in August, and so we’re looking forward to that. So that’ll be a nice home time shown show.
And then I think we’ve we’re also in the booking process of some more Scottish shows for the end of the year as well, at least two. So around about October through to December will be quite a busy period for us, and then September time’s going to be planning recording all the rest of it.
An upcoming busy period
Okay, so you’re already thinking about your next release?
We’ll have a single coming out in December, and after that, we’re currently in the writing process for our next body of work, which will most likely be another EP. We’ve just started writing, and recording is planned for early to mid-2026. Hopefully, we’ll have some singles released between December and then, but everything is still in the planning stages at the moment.
Her Picture and being independent
Okay, well, it sounds everything interesting.
Yeah, it’s definitely a bit unusual, especially because we’re so independent. It’s funny—we come up with the plans ourselves, so trying to strategize and execute everything at the same time can be a bit chaotic. But we’ve managed to make it work, so we’re quite proud of that.
Always without compromises
Usually, what I hear from bands is that they like being independent, but the workload can be overwhelming. So my next question is: would you rather be signed while still keeping some control, or would you prefer to hand everything over to third parties and focus solely on the music?
Yeah, without compromising. We’ve always been very clear that if anyone were to come on board with the project, we’d need to trust them 100% and be confident that they truly understand us as people and how connected we are to the project. Regardless of who we work with, we still want to be involved in both the decision-making and the creative processes. We want to remain as involved as possible without taking on too much extra responsibility.
It’s always been important to us that any collaboration is a true partnership, rather than someone becoming the “boss” of our project. We want to work with people who understand and respect the project, and who genuinely want to help rather than simply make decisions for us or give us a boost.
So yes, expanding our team is a major goal right now—but it’s about inviting the right people to join us, not just adding number.