Widowspeak, an indie rock and dream-pop band from Brooklyn, New York, tries to find a balance between belonging and being lost with their newest album “Expect the Best.” The band consists of lead singer Molly Hamilton and guitarist Robert Earl Thomas, as well as bassist Willy Muse and James Jano on the drums. From the name of the band to the lyrics of their songs, everything about Widowspeak is aesthetically pleasing.

“Expect the Best” differs from the band’s previous records. It’s painfully truthful, and listeners will instantly connect with lyrics that probe the rift between looking backward and looking forward. 

Hamilton said that in the past she has felt “compelled to write songs that are more optimistic than I’m actually feeling.” With this album, though, Hamilton didn’t attempt to do that. Instead, she went in an entirely different direction: Hamilton moved back to her hometown of Tacoma, Washington when writing the album, and the move became the main source of inspiration for the album.

Hamilton reflected on that aspect. “I think when we decided to make a new record, after living in Tacoma for a year and realizing I might be moving again, it set in motion all the feelings that became the songs.  Like in ‘Dog,’ talking about wanting to go but also wanting to stay.  I had spent so much time trying to find my place in the world and there I was, backtracking again. But it was also a relief to figure it out, that moving wasn’t going to solve those problems. That feeling adrift wasn’t caused by where I was, or wasn’t, living.”
In some cases, it seems that those who wander, simply are lost. Being comforted because we feel lost or stuck is exactly what many of us look for when listening to music.

Hamilton points out that in our fast-moving world, it’s easy to feel like this. “With social media, I feel like everyone is really caught up in this imagery of the west, or the outdoors or of these wonderful, beautiful places that make you feel this wanderlust.  I’m critical of that, but also susceptible to it like everyone else.  All the moving, and moving back, felt like it lined up with this same sense of longing for something else that we’re all feeling. So it felt like maybe it would speak to people who have been in the same sort of aimless place.”

You can see Widowspeak perform live at the Urban Lounge on September 20th.