Song of the Week – I Don’t Like You, The Regrettes

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The Regrettes are an LA based foursome – three women and a guy – that play a punk influenced brand of power pop that frequently references 60s girl groups.

The SotW is the lead track, “I Don’t Like You,” from their recently released album titled Feel Your Feelings Fool!

Lead singer/songwriter Lydia Night (real name?) has a vocal style that sounds like a crossbreed of Amy Winehouse and Chrissie Hynde. The songs have more hooks than an angler’s tackle box.

Lyrically, Night is as straightforward as you can be. Nothing she has to say passes through a filter. In an interview with Todd Martens, published last August in the LA Times, Night shared this:

“I feel like everyone in this generation right now is in denial about their feelings and about who they are and what they like and what they don’t,” she says. “Everybody is just kind of really scared to be honest and to be open and to be different and original, especially with our youth and people my age and people in high school. The people I’m surrounded by? People are scared to have real feelings and to actually be affected by certain things.”

Check out this “between the eyes” put down from “I Don’t Like You.”

I know I said that you are cute and said I like your eyes
But your eyes look too much, mine have looked away
You say hello, I say goodbye
I never meant to make you cry, wah, wah, wah

I’m really sorry that I have to let you down
I’m really sorry that I’m turning this around
The things I said before at the time were true
But now the truth has changed because I don’t like you

Is the “wah, wah, wha” taunt really necessary? Isn’t it cruel enough to blurt out “I don’t like you” over a Sex Pistols chord progression (“Cause I want to be [anarchy]”). (Though I must admit I dig the touch of adding that little Beatles’ reference in the first verse.)

Feel Your Feelings Fool! is a fun party album. Judging by the album cover with the band floating on a giant, pink birthday cake, that must be the vibe The Regrettes were going for.

Enjoy… until next week.