by Dan Goldin (@post_trash_)
Brooklyn’s Wetsuit are gearing up to release their debut album, Sugar, I’m Tired, later this summer via Substitute Scene Records (Den-Mate, Desert Sharks, No Kill), a record that deals in heart-on-sleeve indie rock with touches of dream pop and sweeping folk for nuance. The quartet - comprised of Allison Becker (vocals, guitar), Anders Nils (guitar), Paul DeSilva (bass), and Stephen Cadieux (drums) - pack their songs with emotional depth and stirring resonance, their compositions focused on bringing Becker’s sentimental writing to life. With their upcoming album due out on August 17th, the band are following recent single “Local Celebrity” with “Twiggy,” a song dedicated to the loss of a dear friend.
Rather than mourn however, it would seem as though Becker and Nils (who had both worked together with their titular friend) are choosing to remember the brightness of her life, her radiant personality, and he drive to have some fun in the sunshine. With a laid back guitar progression that seems to fit somewhere between surf pop and twangy indie, there’s a sense of dreamy momentum in Becker’s writing. While it steams from loss and subsequent hurt, it’s really a beautiful rememberance of friendship and the power of feeling accepted.
Speaking about the video, Wetsuit’s Allison Becker shared:
"Johanna, Anders (Wetsuit guitarist) and I met each other working together as baristas at 88 Orchard, a coffee shop in the Lower East Side. After her shifts, Johanna usually went to the beach after stopping by one of the bars across the street to trade a latte for a margarita. She always came alive when we went to Coney, and one of my favorite memories together was when we went to the Mermaid Parade.
For the "Twiggy" music video, we tapped our friend Mel Camm to choreograph and perform a dance sequence of a perfect day in Johanna’s eyes. We wanted the choreography to capture how she was always drawn to the ocean. As the dancer glides from scene to scene, first leaving her shift at 88 Orchard, then to the bar, on the train, she's constantly being pulled to the ocean. Once she arrives, she finds pure freedom and absolute joy."