SadGirl Break Down “Water” Track by Track

“If you want to learn about water, go to the desert.” These were the words that inspired LA garage rock trio SadGirl’s debut album, Water—the tenth release listed on their Bandcamp page. Since 2014, the group has been uploading decreasingly lo-fi singles and EPs which have proven jumping-off points for the Suicide Squeeze–released debut, seemingly a totally unique perspective on songs they’ve been playing for five years.

With an ever-present reverence for ’50s rock, Water feels like the band’s first take on the genre from the vantage point of the desert, transforming from the chic garage revivalism of past releases into the lushly produced doo-wop as heard on early singles “Clorine,” “Miss Me,” and “Water,” with vocalist Misha Lindes sounding like Nick Diamonds fronting a particularly Southern Californian supergroup. With a specific focus on his songwriting heroes from decades past and a window into his very contemporary lyrics (“Miss me with that bullshit”), Lindes gave us a quick backstory behind each of Water’s ten fluid tracks.

Water is out today via Suicide Squeeze. You can order it here, and you can find all their upcoming tour dates on their site.

1. “The Ocean”

Making songs like this is my favorite thing to do. Lovesick tracks that lie between doo-wop pastiche and the analog drum machine sound of “Suicide.” These kinds of songs come naturally and feel immediate and authentic. Lyrically, this track discusses a conflicting internal dialogue and that feeling that we all share from time to time: simultaneously feeling alone and yet a comfort and desire for that same loneliness. The toggling back and forth between comfort and distain. Selfishness and altruism.

2. “Chlorine”

This song is a narrative about the titular Chlorine, trash queen of the trailer park. The track is sung from the perspective of one of her lovers who gets dragged into Chlorine’s odyssey. Chlorine is tough as nails and her dreams are too big for the trailer park to contain, so she hits the road and she takes down lovers with her. She’s irresistible, intelligent, beautiful and dangerous.

3. “Hazelnut Coffee”

This song is for cruising. Sonically, it sits between Smokey Robinson and Tom Tom Club. It’s an instrumental, but the guitar tells a story—there’s definitely a love story in this track.

4. “Miss Me”

This song is about realizing someone close to you isn’t the person you thought you knew, and kind of coming to terms with the fact that they may never share the same values as you, getting to that point where you decide that it’s no longer worth the effort and it’s better to walk away with what’s important to you still intact. Plus fuzz guitar.

5. “Breakfast for 2”

This track is a sequel to one of the first songs I wrote for this band, “Breakfast Is Over.” I always loved the idea of revisiting old tracks and borrowing motifs or melodies and continuing with a narrative. In “Breakfast Is Over,” the narrator sings a classic style doo-wop ballad, not to his partner, but to his lover. He reminds her that his significant other is going to be back soon and it’s time to hit the road. In “Breakfast for 2,” our narrator realizes he’s made a mistake and wants his lover to return, pleading “I would lie for you, tear it all in two / So spend the night, I’ll make things right / And share a breakfast for two.” Sonically I feel like it moves forward as well, it’s slightly higher production value than “Breakfast Is Over,” moving off of a 4-track cassette recorder in my living room and into the studio, and featuring organ and synthesizers. It takes us from the ’50s and into the ’60s and ’70s.

6. “Little Queenie”

Originally, while compiling songs for this record, I didn’t want to revisit anything that had previously been released. But then I decided it would be an awesome opportunity to experiment and enrich a song that is really close to home. The character in this song is me, and it really is about me telling Queenie how much I love her. We got the chance to track a string section and organs on this version, which has always been a dream of mine.

7. “Mullholland”

This track is an homage to Link Wray, who is a huge hero and inspiration. We often cover Link Wray’s ’61 classic “Jack the Ripper” live, and released a recorded version as a b-side last year. But this song is more a shout out to the album Wild Side of the City Lights, which came out in 1990 and has some of the weirdest and coolest tracks on it. It’s got a crazy synth-style bass and drum machine and some awesome guitar work. Go listen to it.

8. “Strange Love”

This is totally Mary Wells–inspired with some Martin Denny/exotica-style thrown in. Lyrically, it’s about another femme fatale who kind of leads the narrator down a dark road and teaches him to love again. I loved tracking this song—we’ve got some awesome percussion and organ sounds on here and some real life vibraphones, which sound insanely cool.