If you’ve been frequenting JOVM over the past month or two, you might remember a couple of posts on NYC-based indie rock quartet High Waisted — including some live photos from their early February stop at Baby’s All Right with NYC-based quintet Junk Boys and NYC-based duo Granny .
Fronted by Jessica Louise Dye, the quartet formed a couple of years ago and in a relatively short period of time, they developed a reputation locally for a sound that possesses elements of old school surf rock, lo-fi garage rock and psych rock — and for their DIY concerts/booze cruises, tiki styled pig roasts and acid trip pizza parties. With the release of their Acid Tapes Vol. 2 mixtape, the quartet captured the attention of NME, who named them one of a “buzz band to watch.” High Waisted’s highly-anticipated full-length debut effort On Ludlow is slated for a March 4 release, and the album, which was produced by renowned producer Bryan Pugh will likely cement the quartet’s burgeoning reputation for scuzzy, party until you drop rock that also manages to reveal subtle shades of vulnerability beneath all the strutting, stomping and badassery much like the source material that has influenced their sound and aesthetic so much.
Earlier this year, I wrote about On Ludlow‘s latest single and video “Party In The Back.” Clock in at a little over 2 minutes, the song features Dye’s sweetly sung vocals paired with scuzzy, lo-fi surf rock chords, a propulsive rhythm section and a great guitar solo at the song’s bridge. And if wasn’t for the song’s modern lyrical and thematic concerns — essentially getting out on the town and tearing it the fuck up — the song may have been mistaken for being released in 1962. The album’s latest single “Door” continues the band’s reputation for an old-school inspired rock; however, “Door” sounds as though it could have been played at someone’s sock hop or prom back in 1955 or in a Quentin Tarantino film as Dye’s sweetly aching vocals are paired with shimmering guitar chords, steady bass playing and simple yet propulsive drumming — but with a subtly modern production sheen. With warmer than normal weather in the next few days around here, this song is a brief blast of summer, and of summer fun.
