FEATURE: Spotlight: The Regrettes — Music Musings & Such

FEATURE:

Spotlight

PHOTO CREDIT: Derrick Freske for EUPHORIA.

The Regrettes

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I am a little late to spotlight this band…

as I have been following them quite a while. The Los Angeles Punk band, The Regrettes, have been around for about six years now. They are fairly big in the U.S. I don’t think they have as much of a reputation and foothold in the U.K. at the moment. I am going to source a few interviews with the band/Lydia Night. The group - Lydia Night – lead vocals, rhythm guitar (2015–present), Genessa Gariano – lead guitar, backing vocals (2015–present), Brooke Dickson – bass guitar, backing vocals (2018–present) and Drew Thomsen – drums, backing vocals (2018–present) – are definitely worth checking out. Their latest single, Monday, is among their very best. I am not sure whether they have plans this year for an E.P. or album. It seems like they have written a lot of songs lately; we might see something fuller emerge. Their second studio album, How Do You Love?, was released in 2019. It is a fantastic album brimming with personality and awesome songs! I will bring in a review of the album soon. Before that, the band’s official website gives us an overview of the album and their amazing new single:

“The Regrettes continue to solidify their reputation for unapologetically honest pop songs with the release their new song, “Monday,” their first new music since the release of their sophomore LP, How Do You Love?, which NPR Music proclaimed “a terrific culmination of a band that has been honing and perfecting their sound.” The song was inspired by and written over the last year’s pandemic lockdown, and Lydia Night of the band reveals, “as LA locked down, I felt a huge part of my Identity and ego being stripped away because of no touring, and no connecting with people at our shows.

I’ve been touring since about age 12, so I had to come up with a new way to function in the world. It was really rough, and still is rough, but I found writing this song to be super therapeutic. It’s special that this is the first song we’ve put out in a while because it’s an important moment in time for me to mark. Part of the healing process for me is really learning and trying my best to keep on dancing the pain away so I hope people can relate to that and dance with me, even if it’s not at a show and in the safety of their own kitchen.”

The band, which consists of lead singer and songwriter, Lydia Night, as well as Genessa Gariano (guitar), Brooke Dickson (bass) and Drew Thomsen (drums), earned widespread acclaim with the 2019 release of their sophomore LP How Do You Love?, including NME who declared them “truly unstoppable,” and Teen Vogue who praised their “incredibly self-aware, empowering pop-punk” with additional accolades from Vogue, Rolling Stone, Billboard, and more. The band has headlined sold-out shows throughout North America and Europe, performed at festivals including Coachella and Reading + Leeds, and have appeared on Good Morning America, Conan and Jimmy Kimmel Live!. The band’s new song “Monday” comes in advance of their performance at Ohana 2021”.

AllMusic sat down to review The Regrettes’ second studio album, How Do You Love? Focusing on a song cycle about Lydia Night’s first serious romance, the subject of love and how to feel/stay together comes through on the album:

“Take the title of the Regrettes' second album as something of a promise. How Do You Love? finds the band -- or, perhaps more specifically, its leader Lydia Night -- exploring the ramifications of the titular question. It's a bit of an autobiographical quandary for Night, who fell madly and deeply in love sometime after the 2017 release of Feel Your Feelings Fool! The relationship didn't survive, but it inspired the song cycle of How Do You Love?, which traces the rise and fall of Night's first great romance. Chronicling an affair isn't a new concept. Other artists have cut their own song cycles about faded love; the Regrettes tackle this shopworn warhorse with the enthusiasm of youth and the urgency of a broken heart. Night amplifies her anguish with theatrical gestures, the grandest of which arrives first: she opens the album with "Are You in Love," a recited poem that puts all of her pieces in play. It's a far cry from the exuberance of Feel Your Feelings Fool!, but Night's growing ambition and accomplishment are invigorating in their own way. Telling an overarching story focuses Night as a songwriter, an evolution that tightens her craft and trims away much of its giddy flair. Her facility with pop music and deep knowledge of its history remain evident: "Pumpkin" sways as if it was designed for a slow dance at a sock hop, and "I Dare You" cannily splices the Strokes with the Ramones. What keeps the Regrettes from feeling like a fussy retro outfit is how the group never is intent on re-creating sounds and styles; they poach elements from the past because it's part of their shared language. If the group sounds slicker on How Do You Love? than they did on Feel Your Feelings Fool!, chalk that up to how they're now a professional rock & roll band who polished their chemistry during their time on the road, a time that led to a slightly different lineup than what was there before. It's a subtle shift that accentuates Night's growth as a songwriter. Maybe the group loses some of the kinetic kick that made Feel Your Feelings Fool! such a gas, but How Do You Love? proves that Night and the Regrettes have figured out how to turn ebullient punk-pop into a sustainable source of energy”.

PHOTO CREDIT: Derrick Freske for EUPHORIA.

Lydia Night, as the lead, takes the lead in a lot of the interviews. It is interesting reading interviews from her. EUPHORIA. spent time with her in July of last year. Despite the fact the band have been around a while, last year was one where they really rose and found a new audience:

“Can you talk about your writing process? Is it more collaborative as a group?

It’s ever-changing. All the albums are kind of a mix. There will be a collection I write alone or with a producer or with other band members. I wrote this with [songwriter] Joe Kirkland, this was our first song together. All songs even if it’s a co-write, it’s always normally from my stories. I just find it easier and more comfortable as a singer to sing about my journey. There are a few songs on our last album I related to about other people’s stories though and that made it easier.

You guys really blew up in this past year, has that affected the energy of your live shows?

It makes it a lot easier to play shows when you feel the crowd’s energy increase. We used to play shows on tour to 20 people or less, but it keeps building and gets exciting to come back somewhere and see that. Genuine excitement of seeing people sing and dance to your music.

You guys were supposed to play at Coachella but now that’s obviously been canceled, what has it been like to take a break from touring and the festival circuit and have all this downtime? How have you been keeping busy?

It’s so weird because the past years I’ve been touring on and off and at least a quarter or more of my years are on the road. I’m used to having a ticking clock when I am home so it’s been uncomfortable to accept that I have to be here because I’m never here! I kind of protect myself by keeping busy but I’ve been finding room for myself in my world. It’s been a process but I’ve gotten more in the flow recently. I’ve been doing as much writing as I can but it’s hard to be creative if I’m bored. Above all, I’m trying to do everything I can to improve my mental health. I’ve been cooking and baking and going on walks, working out. I do this dance aerobics class a couple of times a week.

Who are your biggest musical influences?

Beyonce is my number one, I think she’s the coolest person of all time. More recently Charli XCX, her most recent album was just amazing and is so inspiring. The 1975, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, HOLE will always be in there for me. Brockhampton is also weirdly a big inspiration. I can’t wait for them to become the biggest boy band ever.

What is your love language?

I don’t know, I’ve never taken that quiz, so I’m not familiar with the choices. I feel like the things that are important to me are someone showing vulnerability and honesty. That is always the key to my heart. A lack of honesty or vulnerability scares me and is a red flag for me.

What is your biggest regret?

It’s so hard because my brain always goes to petty things like “I wish we’d never dated” but I’m happy with my life and where I am. I am a huge believer in cause and effect, so without some of the things I have gone through, I don’t even know if I would be here right now. I guess I would have to go with having no regrets”.

PHOTO CREDIT: Emma Cole for LADYGUNN

In February, LADYGUNN spoke with Lydia Night. At still a stressful time during the pandemic, they asked what it was like for the band at the moment. I wonder whether The Regrettes will announce a new album before the end of the year:

“Growing up is really hard. Add doing so in the public eye as you undergo a rapid rise to the top of your music career, a series of band member changes and a global pandemic that brings any sense of normalcy to a sudden halt, and it becomes rather unfathomable. Enter The Regrettes who, all things applicable, have and continue to prove to be as adaptable and ready to thrive in the face of uncertainty as they come.

Coming into formation in 2015 and harboring a record deal just a year after, 2020 was set out to position the young LA-based band for their biggest year yet. With the rather immediate shut down of the music industry as a result of COVID-19, they swapped the would-be center stage of music’s most coveted stages in front of crowded audiences to the quarantined and often isolated spaces of their individual homes. However, The Regrettes are using their new found gift of time in a halted music world to go inward and step into their most autonomous outward voice yet. Learning to live in the moment alongside the production of their upcoming third studio record, the raw power pop-punk quartet is recentering themselves to reimagine their creative voice for what’s set out to be their best album yet.

LADYGUNN spoke with The Regrettes’ front woman Lydia Night on the importance of learning to live in the moment during quarantine, why The Regrettes next record will be their best and their latest mini-doc collaboration with Dr. Martens Presents: Music & Film Series.

FIRST OFF, AN OBVIOUS BUT NEEDED QUESTION AND A GOOD WAY TO CHECK-IN. WITH EVERYTHING GOING ON WITH THE WORLD, HOW ARE YOU, REALLY?

Totally, I appreciate you asking. The best way to put it is; I feel like I am doing a lot better, which is great. I’ve especially been better in the past two weeks than I think I’ve been for over a year. I think I just finally started to get into a sort of pace with my mental health and a bit of routine. Finding solutions and taking action when I start feeling anxious or down or whatever is going on instead of stewing in it, which has been me on and off for the past year or so. So it’s been really good – I don’t know. It’s been the silly things that you hear about or see a Tik Tok or whatever, but it’s not silly and they actually kind of help. I’ve been sort of taking away any judgement on trying new things to feel good and feel normal and it’s been great.

I COMPLETELY AGREE. IT SEEMS LIKE A VERY COMMON THEME TO FEEL A BIT OF AN UPSWING LATELY FOR A LOT OF PEOPLE.

Yeah – I think there’s a restoration of hope. There’s like a light at the end of the tunnel, finally. Whether consciously thinking about it or not, I think with my subconscious at least, it’s allowed me to be like “Ok, let’s kick it in gear. Things are about to (in theory) be back to a new normal. So let’s figure out the problem this time has created.”

ABSOLUTELY. EXPANDING A BIT MORE ON THE THINGS THAT HAVE HELPED YOU NAVIGATE THIS TIME MOVING FROM TOURING MUSICIAN TO AN INDUSTRY ON PAUSE, HAVE YOU PICKED UP ANY INTERESTING NEW HOBBIES OR TALENTS?

I feel like the hobby I’ve picked up is just doing things for myself. Taking time everyday to journal, even if I don’t know what to write. I’ve always tried to do this on and off but never got into it. In High School, it was very much like “this is what happened” and it never did anything for me so it would die out. Now, it’s just like, I’m going to write whatever the fuck I feel like writing that day. It’s helped me set intentions and just take a second to be in the moment. Just staying in the moment has been my biggest focus because the world we’ve been living in has been so focused on waiting around for something. At least most conversations I’ve been having are like “I can’t wait for [blank] again!” or “When we finally get to do [blank] again…” and nothing has been in the moment because it’s just really hard to accept. I think it can just fuck you up when you’re so fixated on the past or whats to come. It’s great to have memories, but for me personally, I’m just trying to live in the moment.

BEING A SONGWRITER ALREADY, IT SEEMS LIKE JOURNALING WOULD BE A NATURAL HOBBY TO PICK UP WITH A COMMON DENOMINATOR OF WRITING. DO YOU FEEL LIKE SINCE YOU’VE STARTED, IT HAS HELPED INSPIRE NEW MUSIC OR PROVIDED A NEW PERSPECTIVE IN THE SONGWRITING PROCESS?

I feel the only way it is affecting my songwriting is by how it’s affected my confidence. Staying in the moment and journaling has really helped me feel confident. I think in the past, where I would fall short with journaling is trying to force it into being a part of my creative process and tie both worlds together. Now, I just want to do this for myself and not anything else. It’s been huge for me to learn that hobbies can still be productive, even if it isn’t “productive” in a work way. Learning that working on myself is equally productive to practicing my skills on the guitar. Overall, I think it will end up helping me because it’s just me working out my thoughts and feelings, which always ends up in our music naturally. So it’s definitely connected, but maybe not in ways that I can pinpoint”.

I am going to finish off soon. Before that, I am going to come to an NME interview from last month. They spoke with Lydia Night about the latest single from The Regrettes, Monday:

“The Regrettes‘ Lydia Night has spoken to NME about new single ‘Monday’, their upcoming third album, striking up a friendship with Olivia Rodrigo and why she’s “over letting anyone ever be a dickhead without telling them”.

Having released two songs last year, the polished sway of ‘I Love Us’ and quarantine anthem ‘What Am I Gonna Do Today?’, the LA punks’ recent material marks a departure from the 50’s influenced riot girl sound that the band became known for when they emerged in 2015.

“It set up what we wanted to do going into this new album,” Night told NME. “Hopefully it gave people a little clue that they should have no idea what to expect next.”

Inspired by Charli XCX, Brockhampton, Gwen Stefani, The 1975, Kanye West and The Voidz, ‘Monday’ sees Night finally embracing her inner popstar.

“If you’d have said that a few years ago, I would have been insulted,” she said. “Now though, ‘Fuck yeah it’s a pop song.’ I’m stoked. It’s the first time we fully embraced what we were listening to instead of pulling from things we grew up loving.”

“I’ve always known I’d make pop music, but only when it became excusable –I thought maybe it would have been a solo thing or when I’d done enough to make myself cool. I love the punk scene and it helped me gain the confidence I have now but when we signed to Warner, I had so many people telling me not to let them change us. It’s a fair point considering how a lot of major labels treat their artists but it completely disregarded my own voice. I let that get in my head, for sure. For ages, I was worried about proving something to the 50-year-old dads at the back of the room. But here we are, finally growing up.”

She continued: “The biggest thing was making music that wasn’t fear-based. Instead of shying away from something that feels very different for us, we ran towards it.”

Night explained how their new album is finished, and ultimately “feels free”. “Sure, it’s the ‘poppiest’ and ‘danciest’ album we’ve ever made but it’s also the most experimental, the weirdest and the most vulnerable,” she said.

“Our first album [2017’s ‘Feel Your Feelings, Fool’] was about having fun in high school, and the surface-level relationships that came from that. The second [2019’s ‘How Do You Love?’] followed this storyline of a downfall of a relationship, but this album – it’s all about me.

“That makes things scarier than before, but I try not to think about it. The album reflects on the kind of work I’ve been doing in therapy over the past few years. It’s dark but you can definitely dance the pain and the tears away.”

First single ‘Monday’, a whip smart track about messy rooms and existential crises, “was inspired by misery, dread and all the fun emotions of the past couple of years,” said Night. “It was written at one of the peaks of my anxiety, which I was only diagnosed with recently. After years of feeling a certain way but not identifying with any sort of mental illness, this song was me finding the validation for what I was going through. It was super therapeutic.”

PHOTO CREDIT: Lissy Elle Laricchia

The song finishes with the line ‘Hey, I’m still alive‘, which Night believes best sums up the message of the track. “I hope people don’t connect with some of the lyrics but if they do, I want it to be a reminder that they’re good enough,” she said. “We don’t have to constantly be achieving things to be worthy. Sometimes, just being alive is enough. Getting up and making a coffee, that’s enough.”

She went on: “The past 18 months, I’ve had to unlearn what I consider to be productive while playing whack-a-mole with my mental health. I think communally, everyone is very traumatised from the past two years but that doesn’t invalidate anyone’s experiences just because everyone’s gone through it”.

If you have not discovered the music of The Regrettes, go and listen now. They are a terrific force who have grown stronger since their formation. I feel that, as I said at the start, they are not overly-known in the U.K. Maybe they will come and gig here when things are better regarding the pandemic. Monday shows that they are one of the best bands around. Do make sure that you…