beginning of the first song, but when then they start playing and I think “geez, they sound like they are playing in a garage.” Although they chose this haunted house as the setting, High Waisted isn’t a stranger to garage sessions. On their Tumblr page, they are described as “quirky 60’s garage rock.” This band might be right up my alley, because psychedelic rock (which I’m obsessed with) started in the 60’s. Just like I expected, the song is giving me that experimental feel that psychedelic music produces, but it also gives a more familiar vibe with its surf rock influence. It’s a song without lyrics, yet it sounds as if it’s nothing is missing. I started to think that the song sounded like some sort of theme music, which made the title “Shanghai Spy” a very fitting one. I could easily picture this song being background music for a spy carrying out exciting missions in a movie. My thoughts were interrupted at the latter end of two minutes when the drums changed up. The drum ripple, along with some surf inspired guitar riffs in between, grabbed my attention until the song ended.

 

The second song, called “Trust” puts you straight on the beach with a surfboard and the waves! These two tracks gave me vivid mental images, as if the instruments were telling the story opposed to just setting the mood.  The song “Trust” is basically the thoughts after a break-up. True feelings on what really happened from the singer’s point of view. The lyrics are pretty straight forward, letting the other party know that she left simply because she wasn’t being treated right.  “Can't say I'm sorry/i f I did nothing wrong/ That's why I'm leaving / You've been treating me wrong.” It is a very simple song, and I love the way Jessica sings the lyrics in such gentle way. Even when she hit higher notes, she still maintained a mellow feel.

 

High Waisted is the perfect blend of psychedelic, pop, and surf rock. With “Shanghai Spy” and “Trust,” they prove that blending genres can sound natural and interesting at the same time. I look forward to hearing more from Acid Tapes Vol 1. , and from High Waisted in general. I’m interested in seeing just how far they go into blurring the lines of a few genres.