Toronto’s Bad Waitress have spent years proving that punk doesn’t need to sit still. On In The Hollow, their first full-length album since 2021’s No Taste, the quartet takes its raw, confrontational sound somewhere darker, stranger and considerably less predictable. Released October 30 via Stomp Records, the ten-track record finds the band looking inward without losing its appetite for a little beautiful chaos.
Taking the Long Way Through the Woods
“I Only Like You When I’m Drunk” wastes no time making things uncomfortable. A dissonant, stumbling riff gives way to an explosive chorus. It sets the tone for an album that takes unexpected turns at every opportunity. “45” follows with jangly verses and an infectious chorus. Meanwhile, “I Wish I Was A Mars Volta” embraces the gloriously unruly spirit of its namesake. Subtlety isn’t exactly the point here.
Yet In The Hollow isn’t just a collection of loud guitars and sharp elbows. Written across several years of personal and collective isolation, its songs wrestle with relationships, identity and sexuality. They also explore the uneasy business of leaving old versions of yourself behind. The wilderness imagery in tracks like “The Hunt” and the title song gives those feelings an eerie backdrop. Then there’s “Galleria Shopping Centre,” which finds room for some gloriously weird humour.
Growing Into the Noise
There’s a real sense of a band discovering just how far it can push itself. Bad Waitress self-produced the album with longtime collaborator Josh Korody engineering at Toronto’s Wychwood Sound, building on lessons learned from No Taste. Cello from Michael Peter Olsen adds unexpected texture to the title track and closer “Low,” the latter bringing the record to a melancholy, almost fragile conclusion.
That contrast is what makes In The Hollow click. The music can be abrasive, funny, vulnerable and downright unsettling, sometimes within the same song. Five years on from their debut, Bad Waitress haven’t simply returned with more of the same. They’ve taken the time to get weirder, trust their instincts and let the rough edges remain rough.
For anyone who likes their punk with a little art-school mischief and a willingness to wander into the dark, this is a trip worth taking. Just don’t expect the path through these woods to be particularly straight.
Header photography by Michael Crusty.
