Chastity Belt HHV Records 7 Items

The four-piece - Julia Shapiro (guitar, vocals), Lydia Lund (guitar, vocals), Gretchen Grimm (drums, vocals), and Annie Truscott (bass, vocals) - have created a resonant body of work. Live Laugh Love is a natural continuation. Against the bizarre backdrop of the past few years, Chastity Belt remained a supportive space for the members to grow and experiment, drawing on the ingredients most essential to their process since the beginning: authenticity and levity. Recorded over three sessions in as many years (January 2020, November 2021 and 2022), the focus became more about enjoying their time together in the studio than making it feel like work. Their ease and familiarity with engineer Samur Khouja in LA, who also recorded their last album, made for a particularly enjoyable process. Once completed, they returned to renowned engineer Heba Kadry who mastered the album. Album opener "Hollow" sets the tone with a gently driving rhythm while guitar layers stream like sun rays through an open car window. A warmth radiates through Shapiro's voice, even while grappling with feeling lost and stuck. "The older I get," Shapiro says of the lyrics, "the more I realize that I might just always feel this way, and it's more about sitting with the feeling and accepting it, rather than trying to fight it." That wisdom seems to anchor Live Laugh Love . Chastity Belt has never shied from navigating the spectrum of difficult emotions, and an existential thread weaves throughout the subject matter. And yet the songs feel more grounded than ever; there's a sense of quiet confidence and self-assurance that comes with being less numb and more present. Facing discomfort takes more fortitude, after all. Live Laugh Love finds the members in their prime as musicians. Their parts trace intricate patterns over one another, but there's room to breathe between the layers. Everyone contributes to the writing, sometimes switching instruments, and for the first time, all four members sing a song. It's never been more apparent that they are creative siblings, cut from the same belt. "We've been playing music with each other for over a decade," says Shapiro, "so it really does feel like we're all fluent in the same language, and a lot of it just happens naturally." "Laugh" seeks in the balm of friendship, aware of the anticipatory nostalgia that hits during a good time that you're already missing before it's gone; the heavier guitar tones on "Chemtrails" streak ominous chord progressions over Grimm's precision timekeeping, lamenting memories that won't fade easily. During a transitional time, Truscott came across a note in their phone that read, "it's not hard all day, just sometimes," which inspired a poignant line in the chorus of "Kool-Aid," their first song as lead vocalist on a Chastity Belt recording. Another standout, "1-90 Bridge" shines with a silvery melody that soars as Lund belts one of the most resounding moments on the album: "Tell your girlfriend she's got nothing to fear/I'm set in my head/My body's a different story." The track "Blue" saunters nonchalantly with a wink; you can almost hear Shapiro's smile as she sings "Faking it big time/So I can hit my stride/Man, it feels good to be alive," channeling early Chastity Belt channeling early '90s before channeling the late Elliott Smith in a spiral of distortion and insight: "Don't get upset about it/It's gonna pass/Tell all your friends about it/They're gonna laugh." "We have such a strong sense of each other's musical inclinations" says Lund. "I think this allows for a lot of playfulness...we can kinda surprise each other, like a good punchline would."

Vinyl includes mp3 coupon.Initial run of vinyl will be on Light Green transparent.Chastity Belt talks a lot about intention these days-how to be more present with each other. The four piece-Julia Shapiro (vocals, guitar, drums), Lydia Lund (vocals, guitar), Gretchen Grimm (drums, vocals, guitar) and Annie Truscott (bass)-is nine years deep in this, after all. It seems now, more than ever, that circuit is a movement of intentionality, one that creates a space inside which they can be themselves, among themselves. It's a space where the euphoria of making music with your best friends is protected from the outside world's churning expectations. It's a kind of safe zone for the band to occupy as their best selves: a group of friends who love each other. Their fourth record, Chastity Belt, comes out of that safe space. After a restorative few months on hiatus in 2018, each member worked on solo material or toured with other bands. "So much of the break was reminding ourselves to stay present, and giving ourselves permission to stop without saying when were gonna meet up again," says guitarist Lydia Lund. "It was so important to have that-not saying, 'we're gonna get back together at this point,' but really just open it up so we could get back to our present connection." Their experience navigating adult life within the strange seasons of the music industry has Chastity Belt orienting themselves towards whatever gets them to feel the most present with each other, in any part of the band grind. With the luxury of spending several weeks in the studio with Jay Som's Melina Duterte, Chastity Belt was able to experiment. The new self-titled album is the work of the band playing "old songs, and trying new things on top of it," like adding more dynamic harmonies and violin, says bassist Annie Truscott. Lydia, Gretchen, and Julia all share lead vocals on different tracks on the album. The result is their most sonically developed and nuanced record yet; one that's not only a product of, but a series of reflections on wha...

Chastity Belt are back with new album ’I Used To Spend So Much Time Alone’!

The record is being previewed with new single ‘Different Now’, which also has its own shiny video.

‘I Used To Spend So Much Time Alone’ is the follow-up to the band’s 2015 album ‘Time To Go Home’ and the new viddy for ‘Different Now’ parodies Temple of the Dog’s ‘Hunger Strike’ clip.

Green vinyl.

Limited Black & White Swirl Vinyl.On December 29, 2012, three songs into Chastity Belt's first KEXP in-studio, something extraordinary happened: they shared "Black Sail" with the world.That year, I'd seen Chastity Belt play countless basement, bar, and DIY shows all over Seattle, but nothing could've prepared me for how my friends turned patience and quiet observation into something so affecting and effortlessly cool. Ten years later, "Black Sail" isn't just a fan favorite - it's practically a statement of purpose for the great albums that followed.But before those records, there was No Regerts: the sound of four friends evolving from a party band into a "real" one (whatever that means) in real-time. They're above it all on "Seattle Party," "Happiness," and "Evil," but remain the sirens of Whitman College's cursed frat houses - see the explosive choruses of "James Dean," "Healthy Punk," and "Pussy Weed Beer."When No Regerts came out in the summer of 2013, Seattle - and the world at large - took notice. I still hear these songs in surprising places, and they still surprise me - just as they did a decade ago. If you missed out the first time, this is your second chance.