Avery Tucker Scratches the Walls on 'Paw'

Avery Tucker’s words feel strained on his debut album, Paw — each syllable comes out slowly, as if the mere act of his vocalizing takes effort. Or maybe it’s simply that each word has a certain heft to it, written with an intention and ardor that lends his songs a certain sturdy physicality.

It’s Tucker’s first solo record, though he’s already released five with Girlpool, his former band with Harmony Tividad, between 2014 and 2022. Girlpool’s music bristled with a youthful, nervy energy, due in part to the fact that the band formed while Tividad and Tucker were still in high school.

Paw, on the other hand, feels steady and rooted. That more measured energy doesn't mean there is no danger to this album. Like its titular “paw,” these songs can cut. Album opener “Like I’m Young,” begins with Tucker circling around the dual experience of physical connection and mental anguish (“Like I'm young I touch you with my tongue/How do you like it now? Keep wondering with my face on your mouth/If you want something else”).

Tucker’s words and voice are front and center in the project, but he still had the support and backing of a cast of collaborators, including Alaska Reid, Katie Gavin, Aaron Maine (Porches) and A.G. Cook. Reid in particular helped Tucker “unlock the energy of Paw,” co-producing the album over a series of sessions in Los Angeles and Montanna. “[Alaska] really expanded the process, something felt cosmic when we started collaborating,” shares Tucker. “It felt like I had met my match for the album pretty immediately.”

Album-closer “My Life Isn’t Leaving You” is produced by PC Music wizard A.G. Cook, who helped Tucker craft his thrashing finalé. “A. G. [cook] came with Alaska and I to Montana and he would come upstairs and have ideas that genuinely blew my mind,” recalls Tucker. “His default instincts are comically brilliant, it actually makes me laugh thinking how often I’d be in awe after he’d weigh in and put his hands on the music.”

But even as their moments of uproar and release on Paw break through, there are other songs that evoke the spectrum of an animal’s actions, like the growling “Malibu,” the joyous yelps of “Big Drops,” or the scampering trot of the Katie Gavin-assisted “Angel.” But whether it’s a moment of bombast or intimacy, each moment on this record pulses with quiet power.

PAPER chatted with Tucker about making his debut record as a solo artist, assembling his collaborators and leaning into confrontation.

How did embarking on this musical journey solo, rather than with a creative partner, shape your writing on Paw?

Building the songs on my own was an opportunity for me to work a muscle that I didn’t really have to when I was forming songs with Harmony in Girlpool. There is this level of anonymity when you’re in a band. In every decision there is a little less responsibility because the listener can wonder, “Maybe that was the other person in the band's choice.” The challenge to get a solo album across the finish line allured me and I wanted to do that. I still had a lot of support and was able to workshop the songs that I needed to with Alaska and other friends who I admire.

You were in a cycle of touring and releasing records for so long with Girlpool. What was it like to create in a quieter space outside of that busy cycle?

Underneath the thrill of change I felt fear for sure. Girlpool started while I was still in high school so when I decided to take the leap of faith and step into the unknown I felt daunted but eager for the challenge. I knew I had a lot I needed to explore on my own. It’s been confrontational in a really rich way.

Even though this is a solo record, you brought in a really impressive group of people as collaborators. Tell me about how you formed your creative community in this process and how your collaborators shaped the record?

I love collaborating with friends and I’m so grateful for the people in my life that inspire me. I met Alaska [Reid] a couple years ago at a show she played and we quickly hit it off and wrote the song “Knots” together. We recorded it and both had a fulfilling time co-producing so we decided to produce my whole album together. She really expanded the process, something felt cosmic when we started collaborating. It felt like I had met my match for the album pretty immediately. We traveled between Montana and Los Angeles together and her dedication to helping me bring these songs to life in an authentic way was a driving force in me realizing the album. I remember one night in Montana Alaska and I stayed up until early in the morning, it was snowing outside and we sat in the living room playing “Sunkiss.” She was playing a Casio creating a melody while I played acoustic guitar and sang. I have so many cool memories of us unlocking the energy of Paw together.

Katie [Gavin] and I met years ago and became close friends. I wrote the song “Angel” the day after we hung out, she just felt connected to that song. After I saw her play the fiddle, I really wanted to do something together on the album. I was listening to a lot of Gillian Welch and was used to singing along and harmonizing to her songs while driving in my car. I had a vision of Katie doing that on the song “Angel.”

Aaron [AKA Porches] and I met about a decade ago in Northern California on tour. I think I was 18. We did some touring together (Girlpool/Porches). He feels like a soul brother. I’m a huge fan of Aaron’s songwriting and I feel so blessed to witness him and his music bloom all these years. He inspires me so wildly- I love our friendship and I love bouncing songs off of him. A. G. came with Alaska and I to Montana and he would come upstairs and have ideas that genuinely blew my mind. His default instincts are comically brilliant, it actually makes me laugh thinking how often I’d be in awe after he’d weigh in and put his hands on the music. I’m super grateful to have him involved in the making of Paw.

Photography by Petra Collins