For Lil Lotus, life has largely felt like one giant nosebleed—being drained by the people around him, solitude and his internal demons. “This whole experience has been me being drained my whole life. Now that I'm getting older, I'm trying to figure out, how do I fix these things?”
That concept also informed Lil Lotus’ sophomore album aptly titled Nosebleeder, due December 1st via Epitaph Records—an album produced by Matt Malpass (Blink 182, Travis Barker, MGK, nothing,nowhere.) and Mike Pepe (Taking Back Sunday, Charlotte Sands) that traverses themes like friendship, addiction, mental health and toxic relationships.
Lotus, born John Elias Villagran III, grew up in Texas in a Christian household where he was only able to listen to certain types of music. But after stealing an iPod from school, he was drawn deeply to the rock world—Mars Volta, Saosin, Underoath, Paramore and Linkin Park. It was those bands that inspired Lotus to start creating his own music. At 14 age, Lotus began casually jamming out with his friends before he started playing in bands like the alt-hip-hop group Boyfriendz and the post-hardcore band If I Die First. In 2016, he began focusing more on his solo work, which turned into Lil Lotus. After releasing a string of singles and EPs, Lotus shared his debut album Errør Bøy in 2021, which featured Travis Barker and lil aaron.
Nosebleeder marks a new era for Lil Lotus.