Fresh-faced Los Angeles foursome The Regrettes write punk-pop music with hints of The Strokes that feels ripped straight from the pages of your high school diary—probably because they’re barely out of high school themselves.
The band—including eighteen-year-old frontwoman Lydia Night, Genessa Gariano, Brooke Dickson, and Drew Thomsen—just released their sophomore record, How Do You Love?, via Warner Records. It follows their breakthrough debut in 2017 (Feel Your Feelings, Fool!) and an EP put out last year called Attention Seeker.
Below, Night (who wrote the majority of this record’s lyrics) explains the tracks’ chronological highs and lows, detailing everything from excitement over the way your crush says your name, to the pains of being ghosted, to the glee in finally telling them to fuck off when they don’t treat you right. Guitarist Gariano also provides playful illustrations to match each song.
Listen to How Do You Love? here and check out upcoming tour dates here.
1. “California Friends”
This song captures the scary and sweet start of a crush. It talks about the extreme back-and-forth from confidence to self doubt.
2. “I Dare You”
This song is the push to the other person to go for it so you don’t get rejected. I’ll jump if you do!
3. “Coloring Book”
This one is similar to “I dare you” in the sense that it’s taking on that, “you go then I’ll go” mentality. The hope of creating a safety net.
4. “Fog”
This song has a lot of passion behind it. I wrote it about how good it feels to have the person you like say your name. There’s something you can’t beat about that.
5. “Pumpkin”
This is by far the happiest and sweetest song on the album. It captures the pure joy of realizing what real love can feel like. The craziest feeling in the whole damn world.
6. “Stop and Go”
This song is about things starting to get a little rocky. Some problems start popping up and you need to take a moment to breathe and assess before making a choice that you might regret.
7. “Dress up”
This is a post-fight song that shows a lot of vulnerability. It admits the missing of someone while still excusing all behavior that led to the fight. This one comes from a confused perspective, for sure.
8. “Dead Wrong”
This one is just about straight-up confusion and the back-and-forth in a relationship. It’s the moment on the album that it really sinks in how bad this person is for me.
9. “More Than a Month”
I wrote this song in tears sitting on the edge of my bed when I was being ghosted pretty much for over a month by someone. I think you can really hear that on the track.
10. “Go Love You”
So this is where it gets juicy. This is the post-crying on the bed song. The big ‘go fuck yourself’ moment on the album. One of my favorites, I must say.
11. “Here You Go”
This one is about someone craving attention and still holding onto a relationship that ended long ago. The song is the final bit of attention I’m willing to show them.
12. “The Game”
This is where the album goes back in a more reflective and vulnerable area. It goes through many different coping mechanisms for dealing with missing someone, whether you want to or not. It feels out of your control.
13. “Has it Hit You?”
This song is another great ‘go fuck yourself’ moment on the album. It’s the song that I wrote to tell someone IT’S OVER. GET OVER IT.
14. “How Do You Love?”
This song is when the narrator (a.k.a. me lol) discusses the fear of loving paired with the acceptance that it’s a struggle that everyone most likely deals with.
