Based out of Bristol, Masca consist of vocalist/guitarist Tina Veronica, drummer Jack Hamilton and bassist Ben Holyoke. The project formed in the thick of lockdown, Tina and Jack’s livestreaming jam sessions spurred the pair to take things seriously. Later joined by Ben Holyoke, Tina and Jack built a studio in their garden while balancing life as soon-to-be parents. Fast-forward to the present day, and Masca have released their debut album, ‘Love Letters’.
Recorded while dealing with morning sickness, its 11 tracks are fueled by love, belief, and a refusal to stop creating. It results in an array of shiny melodies and sharp riffs, hitting the sweet spot between rock and pop. For example, there’s the swaggering rock of ‘Fitting In,’ fuzzy guitars on ‘Elevate,’ ringing harmonies (‘Oxytocin’), earworm pop hooks (‘Bones’), and infectious grooves (‘Sucker’). Throughout, there’s sincerity and coolness to Masca‘s execution, adding to ‘Love Letters’ addictiveness.
To get a better insight into what ‘Love Letters’ is about, Tina gives a detailed account of the record. From songs about handling life in a touring band to taking aim at “billionaires fucking up the world,” Tina breaks down the album, track-by-track.
Act My Age
‘Act My Age’ is about being in your 30s, still playing in a touring band, and wrestling with the idea of whether it’s time to “grow up.”
The song reflects that tension – on one hand, all your friends are moving into steady careers and ticking off the usual life milestones, while you’re still choosing the road, the gigs, and the chaos that comes with it. On the other, you genuinely love what you do and wouldn’t swap it for anything, even if you sometimes question the choices that got you here. The lyrics lean into that push-and-pull: the uncertainty of “maybe I should act my age” paired with the stubborn belief that “I can be better.” There’s a mix of humour, self-awareness, and honesty in the way it talks about doubt, ambition, and holding onto the things that make you feel alive, even when they don’t fit the mould.
Elevate
‘Elevate’ is a song about making it in a social media world, always being on call and always wanting to improve and be better. It’s an insight into how I felt trying to get my head around TikTok and noticing just how much time and energy it takes to have an online presence.
Love Letters
The title track is a love letter – along with all the other songs we’ve ever written – to music, detailing our worries, the feeling like we’re running out of time to be able to continue with music.
Oxytocin
A song for my baby, or to music, or anything that soothes you. A song about waiting for something to come and change everything. I was pregnant when we wrote this, and although I didn’t quite realise it was specifically about having a baby then, it encapsulates everything I felt about waiting for Cassidy.
Cry Baby
This is a straightforward song about being in a relationship with a man-baby. There comes a point where you’ve got to respect yourself and know your worth. Leave the situation if it’s not fulfilling.
Sucker
It’s easy to be sucked in by manipulative people. They go for people who are easily led, naive, young, or weak. This is a song about figuring that out.
Fitting In
A song about billionaires fucking up the world. Our world is so perfect, and these greedy little men have come to ruin the day.
DWIW
This is about working in hospitality on minimum wage. All three of us have done our time in different restaurants and bars, and plenty of beers were drunk in the stockroom. There’s just something about being on the minimum wage, knowing you’d be paid even less if the law wasn’t there, when you’re scraping something dodgy off the floor at the end of a shift. You think about the thousands of pounds you took off customers that day, and just handed over to the manager, and how much your feet hurt, and then you think about how you know you’re going to call in sick tomorrow because you’ve got a gig, and you hand in your stupid little apron and think, see yaa maaaaate enjoy your shift.
Bones
Another song for my baby. This was written for Cassidy, a reflection on what it means to have a child. What my body would do and what it would do to my life. A melancholy feeling about creating life but also transforming into something completely new.
Diggin’
Left vs Right. A song about not being able to see the other side, getting so entrenched with your own views that you’re unable to take a step back.
Old Friend
This is a song about leaving home. Jack and I both grew up in Worcester, Ben grew up in Chippenham, both small towns where everyone seemed to know each other, everyone went to the same couple of clubs and did the same sort of things.
It’s about the relationship you have with the place you grew up in, after you decide to move away. Like an old friend that stays the same as you start to change, and you start to get a different perspective on your own background. It’s about drinking too much all the time because no one ever told you there was anything else to do, you never felt ashamed of yourself because your whole world was contained, and it made sense at the time. And now you go back on the train, and you walk past the same bus you rode to school, and you think about who you were and who you are now.
‘Love Letters’ by Masca is available now on Cold Hard Bangers.
Masca will be playing a smattering live dates in the coming months.
May
14th Fuel Rock Bar, Cardiff
23rd Dot To Dot, Bristol
28th The Castle, Luton
29th The Hope and Ruin, Brighton
30th Heartbreakers, Southampton
June
5th Sidney and Matilda, Sheffield
6th Sunflower Lounge, Birmingham
Find Masca on: Facebook | Instagram | TikTok | Spotify | Apple Music | Linktr.ee | Bandcamp
