Review: Chastity Belt - Time To Go Home
By Megan Fair, Copy Chief
[Hardly Art; 2015]
Rating: 4.5/5
Key Tracks: “Cool Slut,” “The Thing,” “Time To Go Home”
Chastity Belt is cool. The music of Julia Shapiro, Gretchen Grimm, Lydia Lund and Annie Truscott oozes coolness in its droning vocals and straightforward attitude. Time To Go Home, Chastity Belt’s sophomore effort, drenches listeners in surfy, reverb-soaked rock ’n’ roll instrumentals and honest, relatable lyrics. “Nothing’s serious / Everything’s a joke,” croons Shapiro on the track “Joke,” but this album is anything but a joke.
Time To Go Home barely lasts 40 minutes, yet packed into those 40 minutes is a wide variety of tracks ranging from slower grooves to speedy surf punk, and all of it is laced with beautifully meticulous guitar riffs. The riffs and solos on this record are like lemonade on a hot summer afternoon, and this release is, not so coincidentally, the perfect music to listen to on a hazy, sizzling summer day.
The tone of Time To Go Home is empowered, unapologetic, charged with self-realization and acceptance while remaining mellow. The uncaring tone, as if everything Chastity Belt is saying is totally obvious, is refreshing. Compared to its last LP, No Regerts, Shapiro’s vocals have toned down a bit on most tracks, but it doesn’t cut away from the impact of the lyrics. Time To Go Home has a grittier sound than No Regerts too, upping the reverb a bit in favor of darker and grimier tones. No Regerts sounds like the wild, fresh start of freshman year of college, and Time To Go Home has the attitude of a seasoned senior who has seen it all, has a grip on the societal circumstances in which we live, but is still enjoying herself.
“Is it cool not to care?” ponders Shapiro on “IDC,” and it feels like the whole album is leading up to this contemplation.
There isn’t a single track on this record I dislike, but there are some I especially adore. “Cool Slut” is a dreamy tune sounding like a bittersweet couples skate. “To all the girls in the world / Tryna take off their shirts / Ladies, it’s okay to be / It’s okay to be slutty,” declares Shapiro in support of sexually active women everywhere. Again, the message isn’t declared in a way that makes it seem like a revolution, because Chastity Belt feels it’s pretty obvious that it’s okay to be “slutty.”
“The Thing” is the most abrasive song, each member of the band periodically shrieking and screaming over the heavily distorted guitars. The two minutes of driving instrumentals and echoing vocals make for a solid rock banger. One can picture the riotous headbanging and jumping around this song will induce in a live setting.
Time To Go Home is a masterfully crafted record, each song bringing something important to the table. The instrumentals are meticulous while remaining punk, the vocals are careless while remaining incredibly controlled and the production makes this album professional but still very authentic. No tricks here, just solid, badass rock ’n’ roll.
Nowhere is this more evident than in “Time to Go Home.” The titular track is the most recognized and hearty, its movements creating a spacious and huge sound. When Shapiro sings, “I just wanna have a good time,” it evokes a certain feeling of empowerment. Who cares what people think? Chastity Belt is just trying to have a good time, regardless of your lame societal bullshit.
