It takes a special kind of band to comfortably open for artists as diverse as Titus Andronicus, Har Mar Superstar, and Shannon and the Clams, but High Waisted’s music is just that—on Sick of Saying Sorry, the band’s forthcoming sophomore album, the duo of Jessica Louise Dye and Jono Bernstein weave in and out of ’60s-indebted garage rock, surf rock, dream pop, psych rock, and soul.
All five of these influences are immediately noticeable on Sorry, which the band is offering an early stream of today. Hazy opener “Boys Can’t Dance” recalls the party-band’s past as heard on On Ludlow reconfigured for the broader audience they’ve since deservedly accumulated, setting up the significantly more reserved “Modern Love.”
“This is an unapologetic record about finding hope in a hopeless situation and the strength to get up when the world is screaming at you to stay down,” vocalist/guitarist Dye explains. “Our first record was about living in the moment and being the life of the party—it captured the carelessness of youth. Our sophomore album embodies what happens when you leave the party at dawn to go home to your tiny apartment, alone.
“High Waisted’s music has always been dreadfully sad songs disguised as happy ones—the tracks on our new record follow the same pattern. Songwriting is like spell casting. That’s why I’ve used the writing as my own personal time machine. I get to rewrite history and edit out the parts that are too heavy to bear. I get to finally say all the things I wish I had. Never date a songwriter, because we always get the last word.”
Stream the full record below, and pre-save it on DSPs here.
