If you’re a frequent audience member at Vancouver indie venues such as Green Auto and Red Gate, chances are you’ve encountered Zoey Leven. The pop-rock singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist has become a mainstay on those stages, developing a following for her gently commanding voice, nostalgic songs, and impressive guitar playing. 

Rooms like that have been so welcoming and supportive to young and emerging musicians like herself, Leven tells Loose Lips, speaking over Zoom from Vancouver. 

“I feel like they open up a bigger range to meet other bands and artists that are kind of in the same boat that I am. It’s a very small music community in the sense that I feel like everyone knows each other—it’s very tight knit, so I feel like a big part of that is just meeting everybody… and building up that sense of community.”  

It’s not surprising their star is rising. Leven—who has been named among the top artists at such talent programs as CBC Music’s Searchlight, It’s Your Shot, and Music BC’s Arc—is a natural talent, with a passionate dedication to their craft that has already given them a lifetime of musical experience. And that’s all at the age of 22.

But along with hard work, community has been one of the most important through-lines in Leven’s journey as a young artist. 

Leven grew up in Coquitlam with music as a constant presence in their family: Leven’s grandfather played the accordion, their aunt taught them classical piano, and their cousin introduced them to musical theatre. 

“Just being surrounded by that was very inspiring,” Leven says. 

She found further inspiration in the local music scene, particularly indie pop-rock band Peach Pit, and took influence from the jangling way guitarists Neil Smith and Chris Vanderkooy play.  

“I try [to] incorporate a little bit of jazz into it,” Leven describes of her guitar style, which winds dreamy textures into bright and intricate melodies. “But I feel like I’m very into the base and rhythm of a song, so I try [to] add that in.” She also loves landmark blues player Robert Johnson. “I think it’s so cool how just one person playing a guitar can sound like a whole band,” she says.

Leven references this eclectic sonic palette on her debut 2019 EP, MESSY: there’s a piano ballad (“STRANGERS”), grunge track (“LOWLIFE”), and alternative pop that wouldn’t feel out of place alongside stuff from Michelle Branch or Avril Lavigne (“WONDERBREAD KID”). 

But as Leven herself grows older, her approach to her work has evolved, too.

“I think my newer singles have been a little more accurate of who I am as an artist and what I want to continue putting out,” they say. “And I have been trying to not worry as much about, when I’m writing, like, ‘I want it to be this specific genre,’ and just write who I am as a person and kind of let the rest flow.” 

Over the past year, Leven has released a string of towering pop songs, including “Closer,” “Pretty Girl,” and “I Feel Like a Loser”—on which, across a hazy and rippling riff, she poignantly sings: “No / Nobody’s coming over / I guess I got shut out / It’s cold here.” 

The lyrics grapple with a 20-something coming-of-age, expressing tender accounts of love, romance, and post-adolescent awkwardness and angst. And community—as ever—is a salient underscoring theme. 

“A big part of what’s inspiring my songwriting right now is my partner,” Leven adds. 

“‘Pretty Girl’ was a song that I wrote specifically for her. And we made a music video for it together, because she works in film. She shot the whole thing and put it all together, edited it. And ‘Closer’ was also a song I wrote for her. And so I think having that connection has been a big inspiration for my music, as of late. And even just, you know, being in a healthy long-term relationship, it just puts me in a good mood—and it puts me in a creative mood.”

Leven has an album in the works, currently in the early demoing stages. In the meantime, though, they have a couple of new singles set to come out soon and featuring BC-based bands Post-Modern Connection and Bridal Party—the Victoria pop quintet that Leven shared the stage with at Green Auto earlier this year. 

“I’m very grateful to be here,” Leven says, “and to be able to do what I do alongside so many other great artists.”

Zoey Leven’s music is available to stream on Spotify.