In the making of Booter’s debut record 10/10, the Winnipeg indie rockers say the moody jangle of their new single “Call Me Upset” was an immediate standout. “When we first started playing [the song] as a band, we all sort of instantly knew we had something cool on our hands,” says guitarist and lead singer Alannah Walker. “The record is filled with these pretty quick-paced, sugar-coated rock songs, whereas ‘CMU’ has this minimal, almost laid-back feeling you can really lean into.” And lean into it they do, letting the sour feeling drip from every chord and tom hit.
Taking things slower reflects the way the album came together a little more accurately, anyway. Following the end of Walker’s last project, Cannon Bros., in 2016, she kept up the habit of writing songs, eventually enlisting David Schellenburg of Tunic on bass, Ian Ellis of Hut Hut and Animal Teeth on drums, and Brendon Yarish on guitar. In making 10/10, produced by Cam Loepkky (best known for his work with fellow Winnipeggers The Weakerthans), the members of Booter worked around their day jobs and other projects—a stop-and-start process that played out in Loepkky’s home studio over the course of two years.
10/10 also serves as Walker’s first foray into writing openly about queer relationships, as in the sugary first single, “Crushin’,” about an infatuation with an unfortunately straight girl. As for “Call Me Upset,” Walker says: “Lyrically, the song is pretty straightforward, and explores being a crutch for someone you’d rather not be a crutch for anymore.”
10/10 is out September 9 via Midwest Debris, and you can stream “Call Me Upset” below.
