The Timewasters - California

Oh! Pretty New Music #1

** this blog post came out on December 3, 2021 via the old website**

The first time I’ve ever heard of The Timewasters was back in February during a live stream with Issy Allen from Barerra. She mentioned them and how I should really go and check them out. Spoiler alert: I did and I loved them. 

Back then they had only one song released (iconic Deadname Birthday), still being able to watch them grow and grow the past year was pretty a much more legendary experience: from releasing the wonderful dear mr government in May to their Summer EP Party Games to now being the first band featured in Bonnie’s Legends new blog series Oh, Pretty Music! with their today-released single California.

Having been more in touch with them since Summer because of a planned and called-off virtual event, I got to know them more and more and absolutely enjoyed our interactions and conversations. To this point, they feel pretty much like friends to me and are always someone I can chat to about literally anything from moving houses, our mutual obsession with Orla Gartland or website difficulties. 

I’m literally hyped about Lucy & Phoenix being back and releasing a definite future on-repeat-banger of mine and I was even more pleased by sitting down virtually and chatting with them about California this week.

Bonnie Orbison: Introduce yourself a bit!

Lucy & Phoenix (The Timewasters): Hi! We’re the Timewasters, an alt rock band from Newcastle upon Tyne.

BO: What is the title of your new single?

Phoenix: Our new single is called ‘California’.

BO: Some say in the title lies the magic of an art piece. Does the title ‘California’ have a special meaning?

Lucy: The song title comes from one of the lyrics in the song which is ‘I hear California is nice this time of year’.

BO: What inspired the track?

Lucy: Pretty much boxing day 2020 being a bit sad, and I wanted to put that into words. There are a few people this song revolves around and I think that’s why it took me so long to finish writing it as I only ended up finishing it in November 2021 where I had the last bit as an idea for something new, so I decided to put it in to finish the song off.

BO: How did the process of making this song look like and how long did it take?

Lucy: The writing process was very mixed. I had most of it written by the end of Boxing day but I needed another bit for the end that I couldn’t figure out. Then the last instrumental section came last month and I couldn’t have been more happy with it.

Phoenix: The recording process was a pain because it took awhile as my phone is very bad at recording. We did it in school and it was a weird time but the thing that made it more complicated was that I was playing it at double time. Originally, I was playing it at half-time, so it sounded weird.

Lucy: In true Timewasters fashion most of the song was recorded on our phones. The acoustic guitar is actually the guitar from my voice memos, but it sounded alright, so we put it in. 

Phoenix: The song is also acoustic until the end where the bass comes in and I didn’t know what to do so I just panicked.

BO: What is your favourite lyric from it?

Phoenix: My personal fave is ‘at least we won’t have to see each other for another 365 nights‘ because it really hits the emotion of missing someone but at the same time hating them.

Lucy: My favourite is the opening ‘was it something that i said, something that I’d done’. It’s a very generic line but it’s so universal, and I feel like everyone can relate to that feeling of saying or doing something wrong but not knowing what exactly it is.

BO: Where is the perfect place to be listening to “California” for the first time?

Phoenix: On a train, while crying and putting away old memories.

Lucy: A bus in the snow, which is the general vibes of the song. *looking out of the window* Also pretty fitting as the UK is covered in snow at the moment. 

BO: Any honourable mentions you want to make?

Lucy: Yes! Honourable mentions go to a band called Beach Bunny who have been my soundtrack for this entire year and this song and its sound is very much inspired by them. Another very big thank you goes to King Krule because I love his little jazzy chord progressions and I’ve tried to put some of that vibe in California as well because it’s just so good.

BO: If you’d have to put the song on a playlist with 5 other songs, which would they be?

California is out now on all streaming services. Check it out!