Artist Spotlight: The Regrettes

By carolinianweb on September 11, 2019 • ( 1 )

Hannah Hall
Staff Writer

Just like most of the members of Generation Z, one of my many passions is finding new music. I spend a large chunk of my free time scouring the internet for new musicians to try out. The latest band on my radar in the past few months has been The Regrettes.
The first time I heard their music was their pop-punk take on ‘Helpless’ from the musical Hamilton: An American Musical as a part of the Hamildrops project. While their sound seemed out of place for a cover of a musical theatre tune, the fun and upbeat cover left me digging for more and raiding this bands Spotify page. I found a band unlike anything in my playlist and quickly added them into my heavy rotation.

The Regrettes are a female-fronted, California born punk rock band that was founded in 2015 by lead vocalist Lydia Night. The band consists of vocalist and front woman Night, lead guitarist Genessa Gariano, bassist Brooke Dickson, and drummer Drew Thomsen. The punk rock genre mixed with the young age of the members, Night being only 18, makes for music that is fun and relatable to a vast age range.

The band has a handful of releases under their belt. Their first EP “Hey!” was released in 2015. It was followed by the bands’ first studio album “Feel Your Feelings Fool!” in 2017. They released another EP, “Attention Seeker” in 2018, and most recently their second studio album “How Do You Love?” in early August of this year. Their sound throughout all of their releases stays within the punk rock and pop punk genres, with lots of upbeat and raw elements, keeping a rough-around-the-edges sound. Some of their most popular songs are “California Friends”, “Pumpkin”, and “Seashore”. All of these songs have a mixture of classic punk elements as well as slightly borrowing some elements from music in the 1950s and 1960s. This mixture of sounds is very prominent in their early music but starts to become more subtle throughout the bands musical progression.

Their most recent release, second studio album “How Do You Love?” showcases all of the reasons to love this band. This album is filled with creativity, catchy songs, and focusing mainly on the topic of love. This entire album feels as though it was meant to be the soundtrack for a ‘90s teen movie like “10 Things I Hate About You”. It tells the story of a relationship from the beginning and the sappy honeymoon stage right down to the tragic, angry breakup.

The songs are new and original while also bringing in nostalgia and taking influence from the Riot Grrrl bands of the 1990s such as ‘The Cranberries’ and ‘Bikini Kill’. “Has It Hit You?”, “Stop and Go”, and the title track “How Do You Love?” are great examples of the album’s overall sound. Raw, upbeat love songs with just enough emotion to keep it interesting without being overwhelming.

The vocals play a perfect role in pulling the music and story together. Night’s deep, alto voice and casual way of singing makes the music feel that much more personal and plays into the strong raw, teenage angst vibe of the entire album. There are also moments of harmony and layered vocals that give the songs a little bit more edge and make the entire thing that much more interesting. If you listen to anything on the The Regrettes discography, definitely go for this album. “How Do You Love?” paints a perfect picture of who The Regrettes are as a band.

In short, The Regrettes are a band to add to your playlist. The upbeat, fun, juvenile elements combined with their ability to tell a story so clearly makes them worth listening to. With only around 480,000 Spotify listeners a month, this band is definitely an undiscovered gem. This high energy, funky punk rock band is with feminist and angsty teen elements is going to take the music industry by storm in the next few years.