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There is a Secret About Terror Jr

The musical duo have been clouted with mystery but have recently opened up on their debut album, Unfortunately, Terror Jr

Terror Jr first gained major notoriety when the internet freaked out over the possibility that Kylie Jenner was the duo’s singer. Once that rumor subsided, the two actual members of Terror Jr continued releasing music while maintaining a certain air of mystery. Between 2016 and 2017 Terror Jr released three collections of music, all based around the title, Bop City. Even with bangers like “3 Strikes” and “Come First,” the question lingered: who is Terror Jr?

David Singer-Vine (formerly one half of The Cataracs) and frontwoman Lisa Vitale are sitting in front of a table entertaining their biggest group of fans to-date at a meet-and-greet. The Brooklyn music venue Warsaw caters to their effortlessly edgy vibe, with Vitale in covetable platform shoes and Singer-Vine rocking some neon-tinted shades. The surprise to me is that these typical cool kids appear to be more excited than the fans. I overhear Singer-Vine ask to take a photo of a fan’s t-shirt, and watch as Vitale’s Colgate commercial-worthy grin fails to waver, even for a moment.

“The biggest misconception about us is that we’re cool,” Singer-Vine admits. Vitale adds to her musical counterpart saying, “I don’t know if we seem mysterious or cool like aloof but like, that’s not who we who we are as people.” As they both start laughing about how “uncool” they actually are, they can’t help but gush about how cool their fans are that they’ve met at these meet-and-greets. Though the pair can’t complement their fans enough, as I chat, laugh, and banter with the pop rock duo, I understand why they attract such an impressive group of fans. Terror Jr’s music is pop-driven and catchy but laced with dark, at-times political, lyrics that truly cater to the “outsider.” With profanities sprinkled throughout what feels like nearly every poetic verse of every captivating song, their debut album Unfortunately, Terror Jr is an ode to the rebel, the loner, the badass, the non-conformist, the dreamer, and so much more.

But how does the soft-spoken singer (I don’t think she sweared once during our chat, and I can’t say the same for myself) transform into a punk rock goddess on stage? “I think there is a big difference in that, I think the fans give me a boldness that I wouldn’t normally have. I think they encourage me and they pull something out of me that would not happen in an everyday conversation,” she tells me. *Fast-forward to Vitale dramatically slapping Singer-Vine across the face in a theatrical moment during Terror Jr’s political song “Heaven Wasn’t Made For Me,” and I understand what she means.*

With a discography that will make you dance, sing, scream, and feel understood, Terror Jr is well on their way to becoming a fixture in pop culture, even if they fancy themselves anti-pop stars at the moment. Singer-Vine admits that their lyrics are angry in many of their songs, and sometimes they are attacking parts of pop culture, but their fans are what make it all worth it. “We are here for the people, but we hate people,” he adds, with a bright laugh.

Terror Jr will be on tour for their debut album Unfortunately, Terror Jr throughout 2019 and most recently released a new single called, “Loved By You.”

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