Over the past couple of years, I’ve written quite a bit about the New York-based indie rock quartet High Waisted. Comprised of Jessica Louie Dye (vocals, guitar), Jono Bernstein (drums), Richey Rose (bass) and Stephen Neilsen (guitar, vocals), the quartet quickly developed a reputation both locally and elsewhere for a sound that draws from surf rock, garage rock, psych rock and lo-fi rock — and for their DIY concerts/booze cruises (which are pretty fucking awesome, by the way), tiki-styled pig roasts and acid-fueled pizza parties. And if you’ve been frequenting this site over that same period, you’d know that with the release of their Bryan Pugh-produced full-length debut On Ludlow, the New York-based indie rock quarter further cemented their reputation for scuzzy, party ’til you drop rock, that managed to reveal subtle shades of vulnerability underneath the surface.
High Waisted’s forthcoming, Tad Kubler-produced, sophomore album is slated for a Spring 2018 release, but before that, the band released a split single with The Coax through Little Dickman Records earlier this fall and “Firebomb,” off the split single reveals that the New York-based quartet has moved towards a fuller, arena rock-friendly sound, complete with enormous, anthemic hooks and a scuzzy, ass-kicking, name-taking swagger reminiscent of Lita Ford, Motley Crue an others — all while being one of the most decidedly forceful yet sensual songs they’ve released to date. Building on the buzz they’ve received for their latest single, the recently released video manages to emphasize the feminist rock ‘n’ roll call to action nature of the song. As the band explained on Uproxx. “This video is about the struggle to find the confidence to be your boldest self. It’s sex-positive and celebrates female strength. We also tried to play homage to powerful frontwomen of the 90’s.”
The band is currently on tour supporting the new single, and road testing the material off their forthcoming and highly anticipated sophomore album — and the tour will include a headlining set at Rough Trade on November 4, 2017. Check out tour dates below.
Tour dates:
10/18: Total Drag – Sioux Falls, SD
10/19: Icehouse – Minneapolis, MN
10/20: Red Herring Lounge – Duluth, MN
10/21: Ed’s No Name Bar – Winona, MN
10/23: Boone and Crockett – Milwaukee, WI
10/24: Shuba’s Tavern – Chicago, IL
10/25: PJ’s Lager House – Detroit, MI
10/26: Happy Dog – Cleveland, OH
10/27: The Bushnel – Pittsburgh, PA
10/28: The Barbary – Philadelphia, PA
11/2: Space Camp – Syracuse, NY
11/3: One Caroline – Saratoga Springs, NY
11/4: Rough Trade – New York, NY
