On their 2021 debut album Everything I Didn’t Say, Cry Baby announced a nostalgic credo for their boy-band-indebted R&B-pop sound: “We can party like it’s 1991.” In the year since then, though, the South Carolina–born five-piece have relocated to New York and jumped a full decade into the future, dabbling now in a distinctly millennial alt-rock crossover influence. It showed up first on “Singing for You,” and now on the melancholy belt-along “You Never Change,” the second single from their upcoming sophomore record.
“We were starting to feel more comfortable playing heavier music and really leaned into that on this track,” says bassist Joey Haines. “The melody came right away for the chorus and always made me think of Taking Back Sunday or early Third Eye Blind, both bands I never imagined Cry Baby using as references.” “‘You Never Change’ is Cry Baby at our most emo,” adds guitarist Carter Long, underscoring the “cathartic, but fun” intensity each band member brought to the performance.
For all their newfound guitar-driven fervor and DIY touches (like the iPhone-recorded acoustic intro), the band still deals in punchy pop production, featuring heavy filters and turntable effects from the days when the Discman walked the Earth. “We wanted every song to have a real digital, computer feel even though it’s rock,” says Haines. “When it was all finished, the song hit so hard and had all these little interesting moments you catch on a few listens. We were so proud of that!”
Watch the video for “You Never Change” below, starring Long along with vocalist Jamie Gray in Sony Handycam footage shot by Haines.
