Combining punk and pop, Los Angeles riot grrrl quartet The Regrettes are America’s answer to Dream Wife. Though they continue to make catchy, infectious tunes on How Do You Love? This is overall, a mild, lukewarm release. It’s left me unsure as to who or what The Regrettes are.
Spanning their late teens and early 20s, they are fourth-wave feminism in girl band form. Their name evokes ‘60s doo-wop and vocal groups, and on the new record, there’s a heavy retro feel, ditching punk for feel-good surf-pop. It’s kinda like the candy floss of punk.
It is just a bit safe. Like, Imagine if the Sex Pistols had been more like ‘Hmm, could we may please have a little bit of anarchy in the UK – if it’s not too inconvenient of course?’ it just wouldn’t work, would it? They come across as the Oliver Twist of riot grrrl, if you will.
We’re left in the end wondering who The Regrettes actually are. Through the 15 tracks on How Do You Love? the thing lacks a coherent identity, even stagnant on occasion. Are they the true heirs to the riot grrrl throne, or are they fun, garage-infused pop-rock formed just as the #I’mWithHer generation come of age? They’re young and have time on their side, but a more concise sophomore effort would have been better.
Haiku Review
Fighting patriarchy,
girl group feminist fury,
riot grrrl’s here again?
Listen to The Regrettes on Spotify and Apple Music.
