Angelsaur's second album, ‘The Girls Are Stressed,’ serves as a tumultuous and cathartic exploration of heartbreak, identity, and self-worth—a “chaotic feast” of sound and emotions that converts disarray into stark honesty and untamed, restless music. In an interview with Atwood Magazine, the Los Angeles duo discusses the internal strife and catharsis that inspired their tracks, the anxiety of living in a precarious world, and the poignant beauty of the album's closing song, “Around You,” while also contemplating why their newest creation feels like their most unified and authentic work.
There’s an unrefined, candid, and utterly captivating energy present in Angelsaur’s music. While somewhat rugged, the Los Angeles band’s second album, The Girls Are Stressed, also feels distinctly polished – alive with jangly guitars, honest lyrics, and vocals steeped in emotional turmoil. The charm within its chaos, the heart amid the disorder, and a richly human aspect of unraveling define its essence. This record thrives on the tension between contrasting emotions, merging glam, grit, and grunge into a vivid portrayal of heartbreak, anxiety, and self-exploration.
Released on August 13 through Free Association, The Girls Are Stressed stands as Angelsaur’s boldest and most unwavering statement to date. Co-produced and mixed by Andy Baldwin (known for his work with Björk), this nine-track project creates an emotionally charged coming-of-age backdrop for navigating life in one's 30s, conceived during a time of personal upheaval and stillness. Prolonged touring breaks, heartbreak, and letting go of past identities provided the framework for songs that tackle aging, validation, sobriety, and the fragile quest for self-worth. From the confident stride of “Looking Up!” to the urgent intensity of “Choke Chain,” the poignant surrender in “u & me,” and the cathartic closing track “Around You,” Angelsaur channels their own intimate experiences and inner conflict into music that is as chaotic and magnetic as life itself.
“The album addresses my quest for self-worth and confidence,” singer/bassist Logan McQuade tells Atwood Magazine. “Many of the songs reflect my confrontation with the gradual disintegration of something that had defined so much of my identity.” This notion of unraveling permeates every note, accompanied by a strong desire to evolve: As the band articulates, The Girls Are Stressed presents “a chaotic feast,” a record that aims to feel like a live performance, capturing the unfiltered honesty of two artists pushing beyond their limits while embracing their true selves.
Logan McQuade, alongside guitarist Jonah Feingold, forms the Los Angeles-based duo, Angelsaur, who are well-versed in both live performances and studio work. Having both traveled extensively as musicians—McQuade worked with artists like King Princess, Del Water Gap, Omar Apollo, and Fiji Blue, while Feingold contributed to Del Water Gap and Mark Ronson and performed with Omar Apollo in his NPR Tiny Desk Concert—they inject their live-honed vigor into everything that Angelsaur creates. Their debut album, Children Disguised as Adults, released in 2023, introduced a band that embraced both grit and grandeur; The Girls Are Stressed expands on that groundwork with heightened ambition and vulnerability, showcasing two musicians pushing their artistic boundaries while holding nothing back.
The emotional core of the record is encapsulated in “Around You,” the album’s cathartic finale and arguably Angelsaur's most vulnerable track to date. Composed during the final months of a long-term relationship, “Around You” portrays both the allure and hazards of discovering oneself in another person. It begins with quiet intimacy and crescendos into a grand finale filled with layered harmonies, strings, and interwoven guitar elements—a dramatic release that embodies the record’s central theme of balancing joy with despair, collapse with renewal. McQuade sings, “Plant a little garden around you, let myself get tangled in the roots,” leaving listeners caught in the nuances of devotion, dependence, and the painful clarity that follows heartbreak.
“I wrote the main guitar line and lyrics for 'Around You' in one sitting,” McQuade recalls. “We quickly understood this would be the closing track for the album… I believe it’s my favorite song I’ve ever penned.”
The narrative of The Girls Are Stressed weaves through the essence of struggle and vulnerability as the band aims for a purity of expression. “This record feels fully realized—no creative compromises, just exactly what we sought to convey and how we wanted to say it,” they reflect. “It’s a clear portrayal of who we are in this moment.”
With an unfiltered, bold energy, The Girls Are Stressed emerges as a triumph of artistry—embracing themes of heartbreak, self-worth, and life itself with unapologetic honesty. It’s an album that confronts discomfort head-on, transforming uncertainty,
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Angelsaur’s second album, ‘The Girls Are Stressed,’ is a chaotic and cathartic exploration of heartbreak, identity, and self-worth—a “chaotic feast” of sound and emotion that turns disarray into unyielding honesty and intense, restless music. In an interview with Atwood Magazine, the Los Angeles duo discusses the internal struggles and catharsis that influenced their songs, the anxiety stemming from a precarious world, and the haunting beauty of the album's closing track, “Around You,” while also considering why their newest creation appears to be their most unified and authentic expression to date.