Illuminati Hotties leader Sarah Tudzin describes her music as "tenderpunk," a self-constructed genre that fuses the energy of pop-punk with the melodic smarts of indie rock. A successful producer and engineer, as well as a songwriter and recording artist, Tudzin writes songs that are personal and witty, and her studio skills help give her music a subtle sophistication. She introduced the Illuminati Hotties to the world with 2018's Kiss Yr Frenemies and escaped from record label turmoil with a set of jagged pop gems on 2020's FREE I.H: This Is Not the One You've Been Waiting For, while 2021's Let Me Do One More pushed the emotional boundaries of both joy and self-doubt. After three years spent focusing on studio projects for other musicians, Tudzin stepped back into the spotlight with 2024's Power, a set of songs informed in part by love and loss. She followed it a year later with its companion EP, Nickel on the Fountain Floor.