The moon’s light guides the cats among a night sky surrounded by nature’s greenery as “Night Walks” by Golden Cats begins to play.
This band started as a fun project by two friends, Laura Dalla and Kyle Lenski. One day, Dalla and Lenski were walking on the street. A young child approached them, saying they looked like a golden retriever and a black-eyed cat. As fate would have it, this wouldn’t be the last time they would hear this.
“We thought that was so cute. On that same night, we went to a friend’s concert. And this friend that we have is a producer, we love him so much, he said that we looked like a black cat and golden retriever, and that he dreamed we had an indie band. And we were like, okay, those are our signs,” she said.
Based on this interactions, Lenski and Dalla began to brainstorm their band name. He first came up with Golden Cat, afterward she suggested adding a “s” at the end, hence Golden Cats.
Dalla and Lenski’s introduction to music, although different, laid the foundation for their musical aspirations.
From a young age, Dalla’s mom played songs to her, surrounding her with music. She would sing, dance and pretend to perform. Once Dalla saw the popular 80s and 90s MTV music videos, she knew she wanted to be like those artists.
“I knew that I wanted to be writing songs, and doing music videos, and performing like the people on my TV were doing. I just knew that was what I wanted very, very early on. That was my first really awakening moment for music,” she said.
Lenski’s mom has told him that he used to smash pans while in the kitchen. From a young age, he has been drawn to drum sets. When he goes to concerts, he is on the lookout for the drummer. Among these concerts, Twenty-One Pilots at Lollapalooza was the defining moment for his musical pursuit.
“For me, it was my first music festival, Lollapalooza. I was watching a Twenty-One Pilots concert, and it was magical. It changed everything for me. I just love music festivals and music concerts. And my first one was very magical, very cool,” he said.
Matthew Bellamy, Muse’s lead singer and guitarist with his versatility in playing the piano, guitar, and singing, serves as one of Lenski’s main inspirations. Dalla, on the other hand, cites performers like Miley Cyrus who expresses herself by doing little things beyond singing on the stage. Furthermore, she is fascinated with Hayley Williams’ vocal range and her personality.
Golden Cats’ inspirations can be seen in their present day work, such as through their writing and music production in the studio. Lenski takes care of instrumentals and production, whereas Dalla takes care of the songwriting. Golden Cats became a name and started feeling like a band when their fans started to catch on to their music.
In 2024, they released “Retriever Boy/Black Cat Girl,” “Drugs,” and “Night Walks.” In 2025, they released “In Your Mind,” “Colors,” “Kiss Me Now,” and “Jaded.” A common theme that shows up in their music is the integration between light and shadow with nostalgia. They balance this by having a dark instrumental and good lyrics.
“I think the most important thing on the message that we’re trying to get across is that sometimes you have parts of yourself that are neglected or dark, and then you feel you got to repress or deny that those parts are you.” Dalla continued, “But to be a whole human being and a functioning human being, you need to have both. So we just try to really get that dark side a little bit more love with the light and nostalgic aesthetic.”
The early stages of starting a song are their most natural moment in the writing process. They are overflown with new ideas, and want to capture them through music. On the flip side, it’s difficult to finish a song because it takes more logical thinking rather than creative work—the latter of which is their favorite area to work in.
Collaboration between Lenski and Dalla is something that helps them grow their music. Dalla explains it as letting go of your ego, to let other people’s ideas come through and shine. There are times when your ideas aren’t the best, and that’s okay. Sometimes to get the best result possible, you combine each other’s ideas.
Their music style has changed since the beginning. They are more alternative now than in the past, when they were figuring out who Golden Cats were. Since their first song, “Drugs,” they began to put lore and Easter eggs into their music in the form of posts and lyrics. With the overall story building with every new song, “Yearn For You” is released on October 10.
Through social media platforms like Instagram, Discord, and TikTok they have built a connection with their fans.
“It’s the best way we can express ourselves and connect to the fans, to bring the music to life and build a work around it,” Lenski said.
Another form they would like to connect with fans and friends is via touring.
“We want to know our fans and our friends and perform. Concerts and tours are our main goal and what we want the most,” he continued.
Lenski and Dalla hope their listeners and fans feel inspired by their music. Lenski explained, “I want them to feel that everything’s possible. You are allowed to dream, allowed to conquer whatever you want from this life in general. I want Golden Cats music to inspire other people, the same way I got inspired by my favorite artists.”
Golden Cats is more than a name, or band. It is a community that has threads from social media, music, and art interwoven in one another.
“We don’t think Golden Cats is a one-thing only, one-genre only, one-clothes or vibe only. We like to shape the sound to whatever Golden Cats needs at the time, whether that be a little change in genres, or a little change in wardrobe. It all comes down to Golden Cats message in the world,” Dalla said.
Photos courtesy of Golden Cats/Facebook | Interviewed on September 23, 2025
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