Seattle musicians Lilli Burgy and Mitchell Taylor first met bartending in Capitol Hill. Taking their name from a service industry marketplace platform, the two spent hours behind the bar learning a shared rhythm and language.

This working relationship blossomed into a musical partnership, with Burgy and Taylor sharing ideas and crafting songs on their off-days. The resulting EP, ‘Steady Risers,’ showcases burgeoning pop songwriting and sensibilities from these newcomers.

In each warbly synth and vocal run, Poached finds a way to tell a story. Their approach to songwriting is both cinematic and homely: simultaneously grandiose and intimate. A song like ‘Depression Nap’ feels like a conversation between two ex-lovers, with lines like “I used to choose adventure / try to take your breath away.” The song’s swells and stabs feel like the final scene of a rom-dram, where our two protagonists meet after years apart. And yet, it’s just two people having a conversation. The EP’s title-track features an irresistible groove and an endlessly rich sonic landscape, with guitars and synths blossoming out of every corner. ‘Getting Older’ is a reminder to all of us that there are some paths we’ll just have to take alone. The sad refrain, “I’ve got a long and lonely road ahead, no headlights / And you can’t come this time,” feels oddly optimistic amongst a garden of gorgeous production. By juxtaposing musical beauty with lyrical honesty, Poached manages to create an EP full of goosebump-inducing moments.

Each song on ‘Steady Risers’ feels like it has a place on a movie soundtrack. It’s difficult to write music with that kind of vision. But, Poached makes it feel effortless. Maybe bartending should be a prerequisite for every young songwriter? Perhaps, the people-watching and eavesdropping done by these bartenders has placed them on a steady path towards pop greatness.

What was it like to move from working behind the bar to sitting behind instruments?

Well, we still haven’t “moved” from working behind the bar together (I’m sure that’ll be a minute before we’re able to fully take that leap), but it was really quite natural. We began simply by building playlists together to fit certain service vibes, and now we run a cocktail club together that has a strong basis in supporting the local arts scene in Seattle, which is anywhere from hosting many of the phenomenal KEXP DJs, to drag and burlesque, to drink and draws with live models – so it all really amped up in quite the natural and creative way. We vibed on so much of the same music and artistic influences, so cowriting felt like a great next step.

Were there any lyrics on this EP that came directly from moments you observed bartending?

On the upcoming record I think more than this EP, but a lot of it was created with some good old liquid courage.

Do you two write together? Or, does one person bring the bones of a song and the other person helps flesh it out musically?

It’s a solid combination of the two. One of us will write a hook or a chord progression, bring it to the other, and then it all falls into place from there. I think we both have different writing styles, so when it comes together between the two of us is when it feels like Poached.

You’ve said you want this EP to feel like a “coming-of-age movie.” How did that vision translate into the songs, lyrically and sonically?

We both lean into a more grand view of lyricism, so that part happened pretty naturally. Mitchell always leans into bigger guitar sounds, and Lill really pulls the cinematic vibe with her vocal range – Hunter West (our producer for this EP) is so musically gifted that he was able to embellish on the sonic structure to really tie it all up and present it in a big way. We love the dynamics on this batch of songs

Poached Instagram

Poached