Kevin Bronson on May 31st, 2021

0

Long Beach quartet Sweet Nobody makes buoyant, propulsive indie-rock that wouldn’t sound out of place on a Flying Nun Records compilation, or in a playlist with artists such as Jay Som, Snail Mail and Hana Vu.

At the fore are the dreamy vocals of singer-guitarist-lyricist Joy Seyo, who is joined in the band by her husband/drummer Brian Dishon, bassist Adam Nolan and guitarist Casey Snyder. The frontwoman writes relationship vignettes and personal pep talks, and it’s not hard to find a portal to one’s own experiences in Sweet Nobody’s upbeat jangle.

Today the foursome announced that their sophomore album, “We’re Trying Our Best,” would be out Sept. 17. With the news came the new single, “Not a Good Judge,” in which she confronts her own self-doubt. It’s a mood-lifter with a loping, Silversun Pickups-like bass line, ostensibly about her own artistic urges, though it can be read with a wider meaning. “I just suck it up and close my eyes / So I can have a chance,” she sings in what could be construed as an ode to the art of trying.

“For me the creative process is cyclical; I’ll be making things I like and then I’ll get to a point where I’m stuck on something or I can’t access an idea I want,” Deyo says. “I get frustrated with myself and wonder if I ever really ‘had it.’ Then I text my husband (our drummer Brian) and tell him I’m afraid I’ll never make anything good again. He laughs and tells me not to worry and not long after I’ll have a breakthrough and get back to feeling confident again. I’m learning to trust that those lows aren’t the final word on my ability to create.

“‘Not a Good Judge’ is me on a creative high, imploring the me that’s in a creative low not to take it too seriously. It’s about getting out of my own way so I can keep progressing.”

The new album — like the quartet’s 2017 debut, “Loud Songs for Quiet People” — was produced and engineered by Joel Jerome. The new single follows last October’s release of “Five Star Diary,” which is slated to appear on the new album.

||| Stream: “Not a Good Judge” and “Five Star Diary”