Looking for your next favorite artist? Look no further than one of the artists we are sure is going to have a huge year as we round out 2025 and jump into 2026: Hunter Daily! Hunter is responsible for one of our favorite EPs of the year with Claw Marks, and we were lucky enough to get to pick her brain all about the project, as well as turn back the clock and take a look back at where it all began with ‘Die in LA.’ Let’s jump in!
Stream Claw Marks here!
Hi Hunter! Thank you so much for taking the time to chat with us! To start us off, how would you describe your music to someone who is tuning in for the first time?
If a diary entry and a pop song had a baby, that would be my music. It’s folkypoppy, and confessional—like little stories you can crash out or cry to.
‘Claw Marks’ is your latest release and your fourth release from your upcoming EP sharing the same name. Can you tell us what it was about this track that made you want to name the project around it? Or did the song come from the name of the EP?
The lyric is: “Everything I’ve ever let go of has claw marks on it.” That pretty much sums me up as a person and as a songwriter. This EP is about gripping too tightly, even when you know better—and ‘Claw Marks’ felt like the perfect way to name the whole messy, complicated story.
After the release of ‘Claw Marks,’ you have left two tracks unreleased from the EP. What goes into deciding what to hold back?
It’s kind of like dating—you don’t give everything away on the first night. I wanted to build suspense, to leave people wondering what else is coming. Save the best for last.
The video for ‘Claw Marks’ feels so intimate and jam-packed with emotion, and for us, really brought the song alive! Can you talk to us a bit about the vision for the visuals?
That video is basically my breakup paranoia turned into art. You know when you break up with someone and your brain won’t stop imagining what they’re doing without you? Who are they with? What does their life look like now? We took those spirals and put them on screen. It’s unhinged, but so is heartbreak.
‘Die in LA’ was your first track, and next month marks three years since its release. When you look back on that track, is there a skill that you honed in crafting it that can still be found in your most recent work?
Wow—that’s so crazy; I can’t believe it’s been three years already! That song gave me the confidence to step into being a solo artist. It was the first time I realized I had something unique to share, a perspective that only I could bring. That song taught me how important it is for me to tell my truth.
Songwriting is a huge part of who you are as an artist. When you look at this EP, is there a lyric that you are particularly proud of?
There’s one line: “A spaceman’s gonna suit up, a cowboy’s gonna ride.” It sounds playful, but it’s really about inevitability—that people are gonna do what they’re gonna do, no matter how much you want them to stay. It’s my way of making peace with that.
On a similar note, we know that crafting any project can take a village, but it’s also important to give yourself a pat on the back. Is there something you can point to on this record—whether it’s the creative process, the rollout, or beyond—that you are proud of yourself for accomplishing?
I’m proud that this project actually sounds like me. Not the version of me I thought I was supposed to be, but the messy, dramatic, loves-too-hard, refuses-to-let-go version. That’s growth to me.
Once again, thank you so much for chatting with us! Before we let you go, we have to ask: Will we have some chances to hear all of this new music live soon?
Oh, definitely. These songs were written to scream in a room with people. Performing them live is the part I’m most excited for—it’s where the claws really come out. I haven’t officially announced, but I do have a tour in the works!!
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