Words: Laura Turnbull | Header Image: Beta Barkmo
In early 2018, mid-tour and making serious waves with their third studio album ‘I Used To Spend So Much Time Alone’, Seattle four-piece Chastity Belt succumbed to the call of the cave and dropped off radar for a year. We know the feeling. Sometimes you just gotta turn off the devices and sit in a dark room. Thankfully the band’s time-out is over and they returned last month with news of new music and a UK tour. “We’re more us than ever,” they declared. Result.
“Nothing ever turns out like you think,” Lydia Lund sighs on Chastity Belt‘s latest single ‘Elena’. The truest of the truths. And we’re not just talking dystopian politics and season spoilers. Chastity Belt have returned from their hiatus but the ‘Cool Slut’ stomp we were expecting has given way to a brooding sway. Those twelve months of introspection are flowering out in the band’s new sound and no more so than in ‘Elena’, a smudged-grunge slow dance beauty.
Have a listen to ‘Elena’:
According to Chastity Belt bassist Annie Truscott, the new single is about “having a conversation with yourself about yourself”. That serious talk you have with your subconscious before making a big mistake? Yep, that invaluable power chat. It’s a super relatable situation that vocalists Julia Shapiro and Lydia Lund play out beautifully with their sloping harmonies. “He did just enough to keep your hopes up,” go the lyrics, laying it out like it is, “his only intrigue was the lack of him.” Time to cut ties. Chastity Belt have honed their stoner-drone sound into a much clearer vision. It’s still the hazy sprawl we know and love, but with a few home truths shining on the horizon. Welcome back Chazzy Belt, we missed ya.
‘Elena’ is a little taster of Chastity Belt‘s upcoming album, due for release on September 20th via Hardly Art. Find the band here: