Lois

Lois Maffeo is an American indie pop and indie rock musician from Phoenix, Arizona, best known for recording under the name Lois, sometimes referred to as The Lois. She is active in the 1990s indie scene and is associated with lo-fi, punk-informed songwriting and acoustic performance.

Early work and bands

Maffeo picks up her first guitar in 1985 and learns from Calvin Johnson. Her first band is Lumihoops, with Sharon Berman and Jan Brock; the group plays live once, at the Smithfield Cafe, and appears on the Yoyo Recordings compilation Throw. Her second band, The Cradle Robbers, forms with Rebecca Gates, who later becomes part of The Spinanes. The Cradle Robbers release one track on the compilation Red Hot + Bothered/Indie Rock Guide To Dating before splitting up.

She then teams with drummer Pat Maley, founder of Yoyo Recordings, in a band called Courtney Love, a name chosen before the celebrity of the same name. The duo issues three well-regarded 7-inch singles and several compilation tracks, but no album.

Solo recordings as Lois

Maffeo begins her solo career as Lois after those early bands. She lives in Mount Pleasant, Washington, D.C. from 1989 to 1995 and is present in the neighbourhood during the 1991 riot. Her solo work often features other musicians on drums and backing parts, and her line-up changes over time. She also works with musicians including Donna Dresch, Molly Neuman, Elliott Smith, Brendan Canty and Heather Dunn. Calvin Johnson and Ian MacKaye are among the artists who produce or co-produce her recordings.

She occasionally sings with Dub Narcotic Sound System, Red Stars Theory and other groups. After returning to Olympia, she joins Carrie Brownstein in two projects: Tommy, a duo that releases the compilation track “Go Sonics”, and The Tentacles, which includes Peter Momtchiloff and issues one single, “The Touch”, backed with “Louie Louie”. Her later duo Owl & the Pussycat, with Greg Moore, appears on Kill Rock Stars.

Style and context

Her music is sometimes described as anti-folk because it combines punk politics and ethics with acoustic instrumentation, although she does not fit neatly into that label.