There's a moment very early in "Hollow", the lead number on the new Chastity Belt album, Live Laugh Love when Julia Shapiro sings, "I wanna know myself again" where there's a very slight pause between those last two words. In that pause is where Chastity Belt reside. It's been a long, nearly-half-a-decade wait since the last Chastity Belt record and I'm happy they are back.
The woozy melody of "Clumsy" sways and unspools in bold fashion, even as the quietly roiling "Funny" reveals its charms over the Galaxie 500-ish guitar licks of Lydia Lund. The two sides of this band are here again in 2024: that sort of emotional stuff, and the more nuanced bits where things are suggested, not shouted. "It's Cool" takes things further, offering a down-tempo rhythmic interplay before the chorus erupts, as much as anything by this band has ever erupted. Chastity Belt still favor an approach that suggests care and precision in what's sung, played, or left out, with even the abrupt stop of "Kool-Aid" offering what seems like an intentional finality to the tune's pleasures.
While "Blue" and "Tethered" indicate the band's comfort when venturing into noisier territory, "Like That", with its Victorialand guitar-line, takes us into more familiar space. Chastity Belt end Live Laugh Love by sounding just like we kind of expect them to sound. And while that sounds like a diss, it's a reminder of the warmth of this group's music. And how resilient it is even after a five-year hiatus.
Live Laugh Love by Chastity Belt is out today via Suicide Squeeze Records.
[Photo: Frank Correa]