Half Waif makes return with third album, "Lavender" - i99Radio, Philadelphia's Alternative Rock!

Bayside returned to Philly this past week for a two night stand celebrating their music both old and new. i99Radio was on the scene to capture night one of two. For the first night, Bayside brought songs from their early years, 2004 to 2008. For many of us, it takes us back instantly to the songs of our childhood, middle and high school years, and the audience spanning Gen X to Gen Alpha came ready to rock.

Long Island, NY’s The Sleeping started the night off and brought their unique blend of post-hardcore and raw energy to the stage that really got the audience going. People thrashed around and sang along, and even a toddler hopping up on his dad’s shoulders to get a better view of frontman Doug Robinson, who climbed up to the barrier, putting his microphone up to fans to sing along with them, and eventually even crowdsurfing above their heads at one point. The band has been experiencing a revival since their reunion in 2022 and their fantastic newest album, “I Feel Like I’m Becoming a Ghost”, dropping in 2023.

Bayside then took the stage, kicking off their set with the classic track, “Montauk”, from their second self-titled album. Frontman Anthony Ranieri commented how their idea for the “Errors Tour” came about when they wanted to play 44 songs in each city, instead of just 22. He talked about how the band has so many songs that fans love from all across their career, but not enough time to play them all, so they thought, “why not just play 2 nights in every city?”

The night of classic nostalgia continued on, with the band delivering high-energy versions of much loved tracks from their third album, 2007’s “The Walking Wounded”, like “Duality”, “I and I”, and the ballad “Landing Feet First” (of which started a massive audience singalong). The band also reached far back in their discography, playing tracks from their first years as a band, like “Masterpiece”, “Guardrail” and “Kellum”, off of the first album, 2004’s “Sirens and Condolences.” The audience was audibly excited by this, as these tracks are very rarely played live. The audience cheered loudly and unleashed a constant stream of crowd-surfers to the front of stage as they ripped through these classic tracks. The “newest” songs they played for night 1 were tracks from 2008’s classic album, “Shudder”, like “Boy”, “No One Understands” and “The Ghost of St. Valentine”. Again, many of these tracks haven’t been played since the Shudder Tour in 2008 so hearing these songs was certainly a treat for the audience.

Bayside’s show at Brooklyn Bowl was a testament to how the songs we grew up with are forever engrained in our DNA, the music grows with us and becomes a part of us as we grow older, but we never forget the songs that influenced us almost two decades ago. The 1,000 people in the audience who turned up to sing every word of these songs that are almost 20 years old now proves this to be true and Bayside to be a band close to so many people’s hearts.

Photos by Dave Avidan

The New York based trio, Half Waif, makes a dramatic return with their third album titled “Lavender”. It is a collection of songs that deal with the longing for the security of home, the mind games that leave us fraught with indecision and anxiousness, as well as the helplessness many Americans were left feeling after the 2016 Presidential election. The album opens with the track, “Lavender Burning” where the lead singer of the group, Nandi Plunkett, formerly a member ofthe band Pinegrove, describes her need for home, and her attempt to fill the emptiness that she feels in her soul. The title drawing from the lavender her grandmother used to boil over the stove filling the house with an overwhelming smell that emits a feeling of peace and calm that comes from its soothing aroma. The second track, “Torches”, vividly describes images of a wildfire tearing through the land, while Plunkett yearns for the lively coast to escape the rage of the flames. The lyrics read, “You used to say / ‘When are you comin’ back?’ / Then came the day / When you no longer asked” giving the listener a real reflection of what she was experiencing during the grueling, monotonous months spent on tour that can put a heavy strain on the person themselves, along with the people closest to them.

While a majority of the tracks on the album have a synth, electronic-pop sound with layered vocals on top of Adan Carlo’s steady, rhythmic bass and guitar, and Zack Levine’s perfectly synced drums, the piano ballad, “Back in Brooklyn” comes as a melodic break in sound that showcases Plunkett’s raw vocals. In this moving, spine chilling rendition she has finally found herself, and despite all the things that she lost along the way, it has made her realize who she truly is as a person. She commands her audience in the third verse as her voice cries out the words, “Listen for me now / You’ve got to listen for me now”. In contrast, on “Solid 2 Void”, we hear more of Plunkett’s internal struggle with her own identity, versus the person that the maternal figures in her life think they know her to be: “I’m solid and then void / Knew you always love me / There’s a part of me you’ll never know / Even though you raised me” her voice aches on the chorus.

“Lavender” is a collection of stories chronicling the pain felt while longing for something that was lost. Yet it is also a narrative of personal growth, perseverance, and self realization that goes hand-in-hand with suffering. Across the span of 12 songs you will get a closer look into Plunkett’s world, and the beauty that often shines through our darkest moments.

Half Waif’s “Lavender” is available for streaming on Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube. It is also up for purchase on Amazon Music, iTunes, and Google Play. Half Waif is currently on the last leg on their U.S. tour finishing their last date in their home state, New York, on June 20th. They head off on their month long European tour on September 12th, with their first show being in Berlin, Germany. You can head over to the band’s website for their full list of dates, If the band is passing through your area don’t hesitate to catch a show, you won’t regret it!

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Half Waif makes return with third album, “Lavender”