I mean, not that serious, but still… it’s a great album. ANGEL CEBALLOS
Second records are tricky. Depending on the band, and the level of success generated by their debut, the fabled “sophomore effort” can call for a wide variety of approaches, from inspired evolution to full-blown identity crisis. This week’s two most notable new releases reveal two very different approaches to the eternal dilemma.
When Chastity Belt released their debut, No Regerts, last year, they had only just begun taking themselves seriously as a band. Having started out at Whitman College in Walla Walla playing what guitarist/singer/songwriter Julia Shapiro describes as “short, punk, funny, upbeat songs—party music,” the band moved to Seattle after graduation and found a new, more confident sound…
