As she launches her third album era, girli is embracing unvarnished authenticity with a clear sense of purpose. Earlier this year, she started writing songs with a specific goal – namely, to make an album in nine months – and documented the entire process for her fans. "That was very intentional because I wanted to strip away the faux mystery of the album rollout," she says. "Every step of the way, I've been very heart-on-my-sleeve. Like, 'Guys, this is what I'm doing, and it's building towards an album.'"

She's also going back to basics by refusing to censor herself. "When I started making music, I had this huge political spark that got slightly dimmed when people began telling me how to be 'more commercially viable'," she says. "But everything's changed now – fans really get behind artists who actually stand for something." Going forward, girli intends to be even more outspoken about issues she really believes in: feminism, queer rights, trans rights, immigrant rights, the terrifying rise of the far right. The artist who sang "when we touch, we touch to fuck the patriarchy" on her brilliant second album, Matriarchy, is ready to grab the mike in all senses.

Her upcoming third album, which is due in May 2026, with a title to be announced soon, is a box-fresh and sonically cohesive affair that reconnects girli with her musical roots.  As a teenager growing up in North London, she absorbed the frenetic energy and spiky hooks of the indie sleaze era, so she's channelled its chaotic spontaneity into music that pulses with the thrum a sweaty gig venue. It's classic girli alt-pop that harks back to her teenage nights out in Camden and Shoreditch, but with a razor-sharp 2026 edge. She describes the anthemic first single 'Better Undressed', which she wrote Australian indie musician G-Flip and their producer Aidan Hogg, as a "fun but sad song about wanting to hook up again after a breakup."

Another key album track, 'Slap on the Wrist', is one of girli's most politically impassioned moments yet. "I wrote it about the fear women live with every day in a society where male violence is the norm and the legal system does so little to listen to and protect victims," she says. "It's about perpetrators of sexual assault getting away with a slap on the wrist while survivors have to deal with being blamed for their assailant's actions and the fear that follows: knowing that abusers most often face no repercussions." To girli, it's very much a rallying cry "for any woman who's walked home with their keys in their fist because they know that the world won't protect them".

The musician born Milly Toomey, who made a splash with her brilliantly brash debut single 'So You Think You Can Fuck With Me Do Ya?', has always written songs with a unique viewpoint. 'The Answer', an explosive midtempo from her upcoming album, is a touching coming-of-age song about girli's first teenage crush, and how it unlocked her burgeoning queerness. "Nothing ever happened between us, but it was the first time I realised I could feel that way about a girl," she recalls. "If I look back at 12-year-old me, who was trying to figure out her sexuality while being quite badly bullied, she'd be so stoked about where I am now: writing these out and proud songs."

Of course, girli is also proud to have built a long-term career in an industry where the metrics of success are constantly shifting. "For female artists especially, there's this pressure to have a mega-viral moment. Some people think your career hasn't really started until that happens," girli says. "But actually, that's toxic and plain wrong. Your career is happening now – it started the moment you decided to be a musician." Right from the start, when she blew up with rough and ready electro gems like 'Girl I Met on the Internet' and 'Girls Get Angry Too', girli has pushed forward with the singular purpose of a pop disruptor. 

In addition to her two previous albums, 2019's Odd One Out and 2023's Matriarchy, girli has released five EPs and a string of standalone singles. From the UK’s All Points East, Latitude, and Mighty Hoopla to SXSW in Austin and Mad Cool in Madrid, girli has lit up festival stages around the world. She’s headlined iconic London venues like Scala and Heaven and toured extensively across Europe, North America, and Australia. A girli live show is a vital and life-affirming experience.

Along the way, she's cultivated a devoted fanbase by singing candidly about tough subjects: unachievable beauty ideals on 2021's 'Dysmorphia', mental health on 2022's 'I Really F**ked It Up', her own insecurities on 2023's 'Imposter Syndrome'. Self-expression has always been the cornerstone of her identity. At the start of the pandemic, girli was dropped by her record label and had no manager, but she refused to let her career slip away. "I realised I have so much more to say, and I really took things back to basics by focusing on what I love: writing and performing songs that my fans can connect to," she adds defiantly. 

She's also learned to shut out the sexist noise that surrounds any young female artist. "There used to be this idea that you had to be mega-famous by the time you're 25, but I think that's changing," girli says. "I take so much inspiration from artists like Self Esteem, Charli XCX and SZA, who are having incredible success in their thirties." She’s adapted to changes in the industry – "like most artists, I've had to become a businesswoman and a content creator," she says – without losing sight of her primary goal. "My purpose as an artist is the same as it's always been," girl says. "I want to make people feel seen and less alone by being really vulnerable in my art. And given everything that's going on in the world right now, I think that kind of radical honesty is more important than ever. "