Mady and Kaitlyn Dever Strengthen Their Sisterly Bond in Beulahbelle
Feb. 27, 2020
After years of singing and writing together, sisters Kaitlyn and Mady Dever began the process of putting their music into the world with a pair of songs on the soundtrack to Jason Reitman's Tully. Kaitlyn's vocal acumen is no secret, as exhibited in last summer's acclaimed Booksmart and in a memorable episode of Party Down, and she recently earned a Golden Globe nomination for her performance in the Netflix miniseries Unbelievable. When she teams up with Mady, who is studying screenwriting at Chapman University, they form Beulahbelle.
At the advice of Booksmart director Olivia Wilde, the duo directed themselves in the gauzy, 16mm video for their gently dramatic first single, "Raleigh," and are getting the wheels turning on an EP, a full-length album, and live dates. Kaitlyn and Mady spoke with us about adding grit to "Raleigh," how they discuss a song's meaning with each other, and the invigorating "You Oughta Know" scene from Booksmart.
AllMusic: How far back does "Raleigh" go?
Kaitlyn Dever: That’s actually been a song that has just stayed in our minds for a while, one we've both really loved for a long time. I started with that song when I was 17, and most of the songs we wrote back at that point in time were not as great, and I think we've evolved as writers since then, but "Raleigh" was one that still resonated with us. It was one that we always wanted as our first single from the beginning. So it's been a long process, but very worth it.
AllMusic: When one of you brings in a song, do you discuss what it's about?
Mady Dever: A lot of times we at least know generally what the song is about, and being sisters, we probably know how we're feeling about a certain thing. But there are other times where it's like, "What does this specific line mean?" So that's where working on being specific with it helps, because sometimes you need to relay that in order to have me add lyrics to something that Kaitlyn experienced.
Kaitlyn: I think our songwriting and being in a band together actually brings us closer. We still live together, and we're obviously sisters, but there are things that maybe Mady or I will secretly write about, maybe something that we're not super comfortable talking about with each other, but we're able to connect on a deeper level when we share our lyrics with each other, which is one of the more special parts about making things together.
AllMusic: Early on before you found your own style, were you happy to just imitate the musicians you liked?
Kaitlyn: I feel like our first influences were like Aly & AJ, who were also sisters, and they had this soft-rock vibe, and we loved them. We also loved the sound of Avril Lavigne, and we'd play along to her songs, and Kelly Clarkson. We'll always be figuring out what we want to put out in the world and truthful and honest to us as people and musicians and sisters. That's always going to be on our minds, improving and evolving and staying on our toes.
AllMusic: Was there any trepidation about putting your music out into the world as opposed to keeping it for yourselves?
Mady: It is a weird thing, to write things that are so personal to each of us individually and having to share it with people so openly, but for me, it's so exciting to work on something with Kaitlyn, and even though there is so much emotion attached to it. Being able to share that with people and having people hear it, that's special. In a way, they feel the emotions and relate to it, but they don't fully know every little specific about where you came from when you wrote it, so there's a little that's just for us.
AllMusic: The instrumentation on "Raleigh" is pretty subtle, was that song originally based purely around the vocal lines?
Kaitlyn: The song itself started very, very stripped-down. When we would play it together, it was me on guitar and us singing together, and that was the core of it. Then once we got into the studio, we'd discussed wanting to explore other kinds of instruments and other kinds of sounds, and our producer was really down to explore all kinds of things. When he heard the song, he knew exactly what it needed, and he added a lot of baritone, which adds more grit and edginess to it, which is exactly what we wanted. And Mady was exploring different kinds of electronic piano, and it was very experimental, which is fun to do.
AllMusic: The song and video both end abruptly, was that sense of drama always in there?
Mady: I think the ending being abrupt is a reflection of how relationships can end. The song ends with, "I remember when I thought I loved you/But now I don't," which is a very youthful way of looking at love and relationships, like, "Well, that thing happened, and now it's done." So I think that's where some of that stems from, and in the video, we wanted it to end on a simple, bold shot of Kaitlyn saying those last couple of lines.
AllMusic: How important was it for you to direct the video yourselves?
Kaitlyn: Being the first thing that we put out, we really wanted to showcase in the best way possible who we are at this moment in time, because I know that we'll change and grow. So in the developing process and talking to people, we realized we should just direct it.
Olivia Wilde gave me the advice to start directing by directing music videos, and I thought, "Why don't we just direct it together and have it be ours?" I was told that sometimes when you direct something and it doesn't really pan out the way you want to, but the result was exactly what we had imagined in our heads. We realize that's a rarity, but we're very lucky for that.
AllMusic: Mady, did you have to get comfortable with putting yourself out there onstage and in videos?
Mady: I think I am a little more shy than Kaitlyn is, but I did theater in high school and some acting when I was younger. But music performing is very different from acting; I feel like with acting I was always trying to memorize things and so scared of forgetting my lines, but with music, I feel like I'm more comfortable playing, especially with Kaitlyn. It's just more fun, and I feel like the fun takes out the nervousness a little bit.
AllMusic: Do you plan to keep Beulahbelle as a duo?
Kaitlyn: I definitely think the band itself is going to stay with the two of us as a duo, but I think when we perform out, we want to play with backing and more of a full sound and a full band. I think the sound itself has so many elements, and bringing that to a live performance would be really special, too.
AllMusic: Musically, can this band go anywhere it needs to go, or does it need to remain in this vein?
Kaitlyn: I don't like to put boundaries on any of it, because I think that there's always room for doing different things, but I think just given the kind of music that we like and the music we write and the music we're passionate about, I don't know if we'd ever get to a point where things feel out of control or crazy.
AllMusic: One of my favorite scenes in 'Booksmart' is when Kaitlyn sings "You Oughta Know" at a party. That song came out when I was in elementary school, and I don't have a sense for how it crossed generational lines. Was it already in your life?
Kaitlyn: That song was always on in the car with Mady and I when we'd be driving with our mom, and Alanis is a huge musical influence on both of us. So when Olivia told me I'd be singing it in the movie, I thought she had a very psychic moment. I totally knew all the words, I didn't have to learn it for the movie.
At the advice of Booksmart director Olivia Wilde, the duo directed themselves in the gauzy, 16mm video for their gently dramatic first single, "Raleigh," and are getting the wheels turning on an EP, a full-length album, and live dates. Kaitlyn and Mady spoke with us about adding grit to "Raleigh," how they discuss a song's meaning with each other, and the invigorating "You Oughta Know" scene from Booksmart.
AllMusic: How far back does "Raleigh" go?
Kaitlyn Dever: That’s actually been a song that has just stayed in our minds for a while, one we've both really loved for a long time. I started with that song when I was 17, and most of the songs we wrote back at that point in time were not as great, and I think we've evolved as writers since then, but "Raleigh" was one that still resonated with us. It was one that we always wanted as our first single from the beginning. So it's been a long process, but very worth it.
AllMusic: When one of you brings in a song, do you discuss what it's about?
Mady Dever: A lot of times we at least know generally what the song is about, and being sisters, we probably know how we're feeling about a certain thing. But there are other times where it's like, "What does this specific line mean?" So that's where working on being specific with it helps, because sometimes you need to relay that in order to have me add lyrics to something that Kaitlyn experienced.
Kaitlyn: I think our songwriting and being in a band together actually brings us closer. We still live together, and we're obviously sisters, but there are things that maybe Mady or I will secretly write about, maybe something that we're not super comfortable talking about with each other, but we're able to connect on a deeper level when we share our lyrics with each other, which is one of the more special parts about making things together.
AllMusic: Early on before you found your own style, were you happy to just imitate the musicians you liked?
Kaitlyn: I feel like our first influences were like Aly & AJ, who were also sisters, and they had this soft-rock vibe, and we loved them. We also loved the sound of Avril Lavigne, and we'd play along to her songs, and Kelly Clarkson. We'll always be figuring out what we want to put out in the world and truthful and honest to us as people and musicians and sisters. That's always going to be on our minds, improving and evolving and staying on our toes.
AllMusic: Was there any trepidation about putting your music out into the world as opposed to keeping it for yourselves?
Mady: It is a weird thing, to write things that are so personal to each of us individually and having to share it with people so openly, but for me, it's so exciting to work on something with Kaitlyn, and even though there is so much emotion attached to it. Being able to share that with people and having people hear it, that's special. In a way, they feel the emotions and relate to it, but they don't fully know every little specific about where you came from when you wrote it, so there's a little that's just for us.
AllMusic: The instrumentation on "Raleigh" is pretty subtle, was that song originally based purely around the vocal lines?
Kaitlyn: The song itself started very, very stripped-down. When we would play it together, it was me on guitar and us singing together, and that was the core of it. Then once we got into the studio, we'd discussed wanting to explore other kinds of instruments and other kinds of sounds, and our producer was really down to explore all kinds of things. When he heard the song, he knew exactly what it needed, and he added a lot of baritone, which adds more grit and edginess to it, which is exactly what we wanted. And Mady was exploring different kinds of electronic piano, and it was very experimental, which is fun to do.
AllMusic: The song and video both end abruptly, was that sense of drama always in there?
Mady: I think the ending being abrupt is a reflection of how relationships can end. The song ends with, "I remember when I thought I loved you/But now I don't," which is a very youthful way of looking at love and relationships, like, "Well, that thing happened, and now it's done." So I think that's where some of that stems from, and in the video, we wanted it to end on a simple, bold shot of Kaitlyn saying those last couple of lines.
AllMusic: How important was it for you to direct the video yourselves?
Kaitlyn: Being the first thing that we put out, we really wanted to showcase in the best way possible who we are at this moment in time, because I know that we'll change and grow. So in the developing process and talking to people, we realized we should just direct it.
Olivia Wilde gave me the advice to start directing by directing music videos, and I thought, "Why don't we just direct it together and have it be ours?" I was told that sometimes when you direct something and it doesn't really pan out the way you want to, but the result was exactly what we had imagined in our heads. We realize that's a rarity, but we're very lucky for that.
AllMusic: Mady, did you have to get comfortable with putting yourself out there onstage and in videos?
Mady: I think I am a little more shy than Kaitlyn is, but I did theater in high school and some acting when I was younger. But music performing is very different from acting; I feel like with acting I was always trying to memorize things and so scared of forgetting my lines, but with music, I feel like I'm more comfortable playing, especially with Kaitlyn. It's just more fun, and I feel like the fun takes out the nervousness a little bit.
AllMusic: Do you plan to keep Beulahbelle as a duo?
Kaitlyn: I definitely think the band itself is going to stay with the two of us as a duo, but I think when we perform out, we want to play with backing and more of a full sound and a full band. I think the sound itself has so many elements, and bringing that to a live performance would be really special, too.
AllMusic: Musically, can this band go anywhere it needs to go, or does it need to remain in this vein?
Kaitlyn: I don't like to put boundaries on any of it, because I think that there's always room for doing different things, but I think just given the kind of music that we like and the music we write and the music we're passionate about, I don't know if we'd ever get to a point where things feel out of control or crazy.
AllMusic: One of my favorite scenes in 'Booksmart' is when Kaitlyn sings "You Oughta Know" at a party. That song came out when I was in elementary school, and I don't have a sense for how it crossed generational lines. Was it already in your life?
Kaitlyn: That song was always on in the car with Mady and I when we'd be driving with our mom, and Alanis is a huge musical influence on both of us. So when Olivia told me I'd be singing it in the movie, I thought she had a very psychic moment. I totally knew all the words, I didn't have to learn it for the movie.