Ever since their angsty, feminism-driven first single, “A Living Human Girl,” there has been something about The Regrettes unforgiving attitude and their riot grrrl, pop, and classic rock musicianship that has always put them on the forefront of the scene. And they’ve attracted the attention of a lot of people over the past three years, too. The band has toured with fellow feminist rockers, Tacocat, played SXSW, was featured on Lin-Manuel Miranda’s sixth Hamildrop on the remix of Hamilton’s “Helpless,” and most recently travelled around Europe supporting modern alt-rockers, Twenty One Pilots.
The Regrettes have had a whirlwind career so far to say the least. They’ve battled lineup changes, vocal rests, and relationships, yet their perseverance and their constantly-evolving sound has never wavered. If anything, it has made the group even stronger than before. Their upcoming record, How Do You Love?, is a perfect testament of that. The maturity level is through the roof when compared to their debut, Feel Your Feelings Fool!, which had a stronger sense of apprehension, although it was still in-your-face honest.
Front woman Lydia Night has grown up with her band, which allows every song to showcase a new point in her adolescent life. While the band’s first record was focused more on the pitfalls of high school, relationship drama, and sticking it to the man, this new record drives home an obvious newfound sense of grounding realism, and—to touch on the album title—love. There is still a social and political awareness, though, because it’s not possible for a young, woke, punk band like The Regrettes to not take the world around them into consideration.
The spectacular lead singles from this record—“California Friends,” “I Dare You,” “Pumpkin,” and “Dress Up”—all have had incredible traction and garnered the band an impeccable number of new fans. Between those tracks and Night’s adorable and public relationship with Wallows’ front man Dylan Minnette, there has been exponential growth insofar as where The Regrettes have been seen and where they’re going.
How Do You Love? will surely solidify their growing fanbase, being as it’s a purely rock ‘n’ roll collection of youthful, romantic songs. Night’s vocals are always roaring and live show-ready, and lead guitarist Genessa Gariano’s electric guitar shredding is a perfect, melodious accoutrement to it. On “Stop and Go” one can listen to Night and Gariano as individuals, but it takes the pair to really make the experience of listening to How Do You Love? what it is. It’s music for dancing around your bedroom using your hairbrush as a microphone. It’s longingly looking out your rainy car window pretending you are in a music video music. It’s singing on the top of your lungs and moshing alongside your best friend’s band.
“More Than A Month” is brutally honest right out of the gate, and while it’s touching upon an intense, but all over the place romance, the theme is more fully-fledged than any of which would have been found on Feel Your Feelings Fool!—though it has a similar edge and ferocity that many of those early songs did, as well. If there’s any nostalgia to be found on this sophomore release, it’s found wholly on this track.
What makes this record even more special than just being good tunes to jam out to is that it is ridiculously relatable. Young relationships are impactful and real, and opening your heart up at an early age means a lot more personally than it does as you get older.
Night narrates the opening to this album with a 56 second piece about love, the feelings that come with it, and its effects on daily life. She knows it might sound dramatic, but that’s just what comes with relationships, love, and loving hard. Matching up with this special intro is the album’s concluding track, the title baring, “How Do You Love?” This fast paced, thundering, anthemic two-minute song is pretty much the complete opposite of the “Are You In Love” intro, but still mirrors it in the sense of meaning: love, and what makes the love you feel both real and your own.
Be sure to catch The Regrettes album release party at Rough Trade in Brooklyn on August 9! How Do You Love? will be made available the same day via Warner Records wherever music is streamed or sold.
