LA’s Inner Wave have been through a lot since releasing their last album in 2021—even beyond celebrating the 10-year anniversary of their first two records. Naturally, their latest effort See You When I Get Back is a chronicle of this growth on both a personal and professional level, with the record’s 13 tracks exploring heavy themes like sobriety and loss while sonically returning to the fertile early-2010s indie rock scene they came up within (the “American Spirits era,” as bassist Jean Pierre Narvaez puts it).
Perhaps the most defining feature of the new LP is its time-hopping reverence for various periods of rock music, with 2000s garage-rock sound of The Strokes bumping up against The Cars’ more vintage sheen, and Inner Wave even shouting out the glam revivalism of The Darkness that further blurs the temporal boundaries between these two periods of rock and roll. Frontman Pablo Sotelo notes that a lot of this comes down to the sense of complexity these songs possess, which he outlines while breaking down the opening track, “Madre.” “We put a lot of effort into trying to make sure every single element sounded great on its own so that together it would create a symphony,” he shares, suggesting the attention to detail that went into each of the songs that follows, as well.
With the record out today via Nettwerk Music Group, Sotelo, Narvaez, and multi-instrumentalist Elijah Trujillo went deep on all 13 of See You When I Get Back’s tracks, citing influences, laying out background, and hyping fans to their upcoming North American tour in support of the record, which kicks off in April. Stream along and find their words below.
1. “Madre”
Pablo: This song started off with Jean on bass, Eli on keys, and me on drums. Eventually, Jean added a synth lead, as well as some orchestration in the beginning which we later recorded with real violins and violas. Eli added a lap steel guitar lead at the end and I added guitar, as well as some theremin. I wrote lyrics for it that same day and tracked it along with the background vocals, Eli also added a whistle in the beginning. That was the demo we lived with for awhile. We flirted with the idea of slowing and pitching down the song, but decided it was best at its current pitch and tempo. When we re-recorded it in 2024 we decided to record the drums with our friend/collaborator Eddie Burns. He really elevated my original drum beat and added his own unique style to the rhythm section. We re-recorded my guitar, a Peavey T-60, through my pedal board into a ’60s Airline 62-9029a, then through a ’70s Yamaha mixer board into a distressor rack unit, and then onto my 16 track Tascam Tape Machine.
Every guitar, bass, synth, drum, vocal, percussion, or orchestral element had a similar sort of signal chain. Whether it was amped or not, it always ran through the ’70s Yamaha board and through some physical rack equipment, then onto tape. We put a lot of effort into trying to make sure every single element sounded great on its own so that together it would create a symphony. Lead vocals on this song (and almost every other song on this album) was recorded with three mics: a WA CX-12 and Altec “Salt Shaker” mic close together as a clean/dirty, and a ribbon mic for the room. We tried re-recording the lead synth and lead lap steel lines but something about the original demo version felt special, so we kept those and used the newly tracked takes as supplemental layers underneath.
Lyrically, I felt this song was always a breakup song like many of the other songs on the album. The title seems to imply a sort of need for a maternal caregiver in a relationship. He no longer has that, so he needs to grow up and become self-reliant and no longer a child, foreshadowing track three on the record.
J3 [Jean Pierre Narvaez]: I love the beat and bounce on this song. The way the drums, bass, and synths work together in the chorus is ear candy to me. It’s an easy listen as an intro track to the album and a great palate cleanser to our existing fans. It sounds consistent to the Inner Wave sound with an extra punch in production and musicality.
Eli [Elijah Trujillo]: To me, this is the perfect song to begin the album. It has many elements that relate to previous IW albums, but introduces a new vibe in a sleek way. As the intro plays out, I imagine a storybook is opening up, like the intro of Shrek. Once the drums come in, we’re stomping in rhythm in a swamp. Surrounded by nature, but still gritty. It has a rolling-type rhythm that I imagine is like a yin-yang rolling down a hill.
2. “Sweet”
Pablo: Our friend Esteban Muñoz (a.k.a bob junior) played drums on the original recording. He also added the “whoop” sound, which was his idea. This track changed a lot from the original demo. It got faster, and we removed an entire section and added this whole ’60s drums panned hard to one side section with a way of vocal harmonies as the bridge. The lead synth string sound we actually sampled ourselves. I grabbed a violin, played one string stab note, recorded it onto an iPhone, then plugged that into an old Ensoniq ASR-10 and turned that one sample into a keyboard sound. Toward the end of the track, we layered it with real violins.
Lyrically, this song feels like a debate in a story arc, when the protagonist is deciding whether or not he should embark on this journey or not. Should I stay or should I go? Shouldn’t things always feel easy?
J3: This song reminds me of 2010s indie rock—like I would’ve found this on a music blog circa 2011. To me it’s reminiscent of the American Spirits era with a “grown-up” approach. In verse two we hear the vocal rhythm/melody turn into this playful/melodic “rap,” which reminds me of a kid who grew into themself and preserved that spark they once started with. A classic back-to-roots moment.
Eli: I had the chords for this song for years, but was never able to find a good home for them until we jammed with Esteban. Something was in the studio that day that led me to change the second half of the progression, and that was the right combination that was able to bring out the best in everyone’s jam. Once we found a groove, it pretty much wrote itself.
3. “Child”
J3: This is one of those songs that deserves to be on Song Exploder. I think music nerds and musicians alike will be psyched on figuring this number out. It’s a classic pop song built off a not-so-classic and very uncommon time signature. There are only so many songs that work in the “pop structure” context that can hold down a weird time signature and have it be as fluid as this one. This will one day be the perfect song to start a set at any festival worldwide.
Pablo: I started writing this song on our tour bus back in 2023; all I had was a voice memo that I knew I wanted to go back to. It always reminded me of the start of a roadtrip, or “I Believe in a Thing Called Love” by The Darkness—at least the intro. A couple odd time signatures in there to break up the simplistic three-chord progression. Funny enough, this song ended up being the start of the “roadtrip” in the film. When tour was over, I turned on the tape machine and started with that guitar riff, played the whole song through how I had it in my head, then added the drums, bass, keys, and vocals. The original demo isn’t too different from the final, compositionally. Just more polished. Lyrically, I feel this song touches on nostalgia and reminiscing about an idealized past.
Eli: When Pablo showed us the demo for this one, it was an instant hit. I was already hearing it on the radio. It had room for a solo and it was my turn to do one. Rhythm guitar is mostly my pocket, but it was time to level up. I got to write the solo on this one and we wanted the tone similar to the lead synth in “Just What I Needed” by The Cars, so we took three takes of the solo and had one original, one pitched slightly down, and one pitched slightly up to give it that almost morphing feel.
4. “Push”
J3: To me, this is where the album starts to get really interesting. I think we hit all of our marks with tracks one through three. Now, the three-song rule is through; photographers must exit the photo pit. Inner Wave is in their bag. Musicality, lyricism, production, and focused experimentation. I think this track leans on, and is influenced by, our favorite songs that we don’t necessarily share with people outside of our bubble: This Is Humbug by Arctic Monkeys meets Bloc Party, Lullabies to Paralyze by Queens of the Stone Age if it was produced by Kevin Parker. It’s got bounce, melodies, drums, wailing guitars, synths, and a voice that needs you to listen.
Pablo: This song we wrote all together. It actually had an entirely different beginning that we scrapped.
Eli: This is my dad’s favorite song of the album. It has this energy to it that we’ve always had within, but we were able to capture and flush out this time. It was very fun to write and jam on. It also feels very sexy. I can’t wait to play this live.
5. “Pull”
J3: I love this lil’ guy. This is Inner Wave chillin’ at home (a.k.a. The Swamp), having a laugh.
Eli: This one perfectly encapsulates the ease and fun part of what we do when we jam. Not much effort went into this, but the syncopation, tones, and overall vibe leads it to be a head-bobbing palate-cleanser type track.
6. “Big Foot”
J3: This track exemplifies a natural and mature “cool.” Pablo’s vocal rhythm throughout the song is so cool. It’s effortless, just like the instrumentation throughout the song. It’s a digital rock bop.
Eli: I feel like diehard IW fans will love this one. Once it starts, you know it’s an IW song. This is another song that I had the chords for for years and never found the right spot for them. But when we jammed on this one, they found their home.
7. “Far Away”
J3: This is Inner Wave in the ’80s. People wanna vogue to this. Also reminds me of a mature American Spirits.
Pablo: I always imagined the “Johnny B. Goode” scene from Back to the Future and the lightning with the bell tower for this song. Almost The Smiths, but with more drive.
Eli: This song is my favorite on the album. I feel like it exemplifies all the emotions throughout the album and the last few years as a touring band. We aimed for uptempo, high-energy, but also a feel of nostalgia and the fact that things change over time and there’s no going back. This is another one I can’t wait to play live.
8. “If You Like”
J3: Big song. I think you can hear the vocalist come to terms and agreement with their voice and themselves on this one. I think that that will be infectious to the listener and cause a singalong at any and every show from here on out.
Pablo: Wrote this song after meditating for 20 minutes in silence, plugged everything and just went stream-of-consciousness—one-takes, mainly. Started on the bass, then drums, then guitars, then lap steel, ending with vocals. Eventually we re-recorded the drums with our current drummer, Felix Holton (who plays in Benee’s band), and re-recorded the vocals. But we kept 80 percent of the demo.
Eli: The attitude on this one is something that’s unmatched on the album. Pablo wrote this after the rest of the album was done, so it encapsulates the level of maturity and confidence that comes with the process. It’s going to be so fun to play live.
9. “Only for Your Eyes”
J3: This is literally the one for the people in the back—the folks who don’t wanna be seen, the chillers, the pessimistic funny guy. I love it. It’s got a bridge that I absolutely love. The production hits so hard, and it’s gonna hit so hard during nighttime festival slots.
Pablo: Slight industrial vibes.
Eli: The production on this one is phenomenal, and I just imagine it in a Christopher Nolan Dark Knight movie.
10. “Wolfie”
J3: In my top three of the album. I think this song gets a collective fuck-yeah from the band. When the first chord hits, it feels like a wave of nostalgia for the last two or three years. The rhythm and bass lines are so catchy, accompanied by a synth stab that feels fresh and familiar. The drum solo/break is so good, the vocal melodies are infectious. All the sine wave synths underneath the groove are so warm and pleasing.
Eli: This one was very fun to write. I discovered these chords a couple years ago and used them for a song on our R&B/hip-hop side project, Afterschool Special. Differing entirely in style, I played them in a punchy rhythm with overdrive and Pablo layered complementary chords over them so it just sounds like a wall of chords that hits the listener in the stomach. It came out naturally and was greatly enhanced when Eddie Burns drummed on it and added the drum solo mid-song.
11. “Sams Is the Change”
J3: Another voguing song. This feels like early-’90s New York City to me. One of my favorite bass lines I’ve written to date. I was feeling Bloc Party–era when I wrote the pre-chorus guitar line. The spooky synth lines and pads are so Halloween, so good. The guitar strums are perfectly distorted. Snare fills make you wanna air drum. Promising words in the chorus. This is a fashion-runway vibe. Banger.
Eli: Jean’s bass line in the pre-chorus is my favorite riff of the album. For some reason, this song reminds me of Christmas. Not so much the jolly part, but the wintery part. Like Krampus on a rampage.
12. “Highways”
J3: Feels like a soft comedown. Lots of countermelodies in the bass that accompanies the vocals so well. This feels like an Inner Wave version of a Mac DeMarco or Men I Trust song. A drive at sunset into the desert. Solitude is scary and blissful.
Pablo: I always liked the “Am I my brother’s keeper?” line. Good ol’ Cain and Abel reference.
Eli: This one feels like when you’re on a roller coaster and it comes to a halting end—your adrenaline is still pumping, but the ride is slowly approaching the part to let you off. The blissful peace after a storm.
13. “All of the Things”
J3: Very emotionally comforting for me. Sounds like a hello and a goodbye—a story untold, a cry. It sounds like a load of feelings not ready to be released and put into words and sound, for now. Sometimes I don’t recognize the instrumentation as instruments. Kinda feels like a huge sound blended into and behind the voice. I love that it ends here. Gives space for more.
Pablo: This track is a demo I made on my own. We tried to remake it and polish it up more, but this version we liked best. Again, all recorded on a tape machine and pitched down.Eli: The emotions on this one are high. The pitched-down, demo-y feel to it really makes it feel like you’re reflecting on your past in a way that you feel like you’ve been through a lot. But things will be OK, ’cause that's just life.
