Chastity Belt : Live Laugh Love
The opening track of Chastity Belt’s fifth album, “Hollow,” arrives as a kind of thesis statement of what the band has worked so hard to nail down—a catchy, laid back rock tune that nearly distracts from the unmistakable humor lying behind it all. In the music video for “Hollow,” the group parodies influencer trends, like makeup tutorials and cooking videos. But beyond that, they tap into the name of their album, Live Laugh Love. A joke more than an actual decree among certain crowds, the video prominently features needlepoint pillows and neon lights with the phrase, a sight that in a genuine setting, immediately induces cringe. However, through Chastity Belt’s lens, they find an honest way to express their version of this mantra, as vocalist Julia Shapiro sings, “There’s a lie that we all tell / I don’t mind trading comfort for a change.” Instead of trying to hide behind remedies and rituals, the band finds peace within confronting fears and changes head on. Regarding the track’s lyrics, Shapiro said, “it’s more about sitting with the feeling and accepting it, rather than trying to fight it.”
Chastity Belt has been creating albums with a sound anchored in both friendship and resistance since their 2013 debut No Regerts. There has always been a feeling of safety and recognition in their albums, for those fed up with expectations and societal pressures. Early tracks like “Healthy Punk” and “Cool Slut” acted as new anthems for those looking to rage against the norm, both parts punk rock and lyrically bold, the band’s answer to modern feminism. This time around, on Live Laugh Love, the band approaches their tracklist with a less raucous sound, basking more in the glow of exposing their honest lyrics meshed with less cluttered instrumentals. On “It’s Cool,” a significantly stripped down track, Shapiro sings, “What’s the point of anything, if I always feel the same? I could tell you anything, I could tell you everything.”
While many of the tracks on Live Laugh Love find Chastity Belt in sun-soaked slacker rock mode, they lean into a darker type of rock, especially on tracks like “Chemtrails.” Gretchen Grimm’s drums lay a brash, hollowed foundation against Lydia Lund’s melancholic guitar riffs. As Shapiro sings “Moments move like chemtrails in my mind,” the band’s instrumentals link up to convey the encompassing dread of anxiety, memories flooding your brain like a dizzying wave.
Live Laugh Love allows Chastity Belt to process and reflect on current times, while they also find ways to stay connected to their focus on fun that tied their sound together when they began, 13 years ago. It’s a joy to hear them navigate the state of the world through their wit and humor, adding wisdom and perspective that grew over the course of their discography. A new Chastity Belt album is always a gift, almost as if the coolest people you know are opening up their hang to you—it’s four friends inviting you in to go against the grain and live laugh love, whatever those actions mean to you.
Label: Suicide Squeeze
Year: 2024
Similar Albums:
Chastity Belt : Live Laugh Love
Note: When you buy something through our affiliate links, Treble receives a commission. All albums we cover are chosen by our editors and contributors.
