Angelsaur’s sophomore album ‘The Girls Are Stressed’ is a messy, cathartic reckoning with heartbreak, identity, and self-worth – a “chaotic feast” of sound and feeling that transforms unraveling into unflinching honesty and raw, restless music. Speaking to Atwood Magazine, the Los Angeles duo open up about the inner turmoil and catharsis that shaped their songs, the anxiety of a world on edge, and the devastating beauty of album finale “Around You,” all while reflecting on why their latest work feels like their most cohesive and uncompromised statement yet.
Stream: “Around You” – Angelsaur
There’s a raw, unfiltered, and utterly irresistible energy coursing through Angelsaur’s music.
Kind of ragged, yet undeniably polished at the same time, the Los Angeles band’s sophomore album The Girls Are Stressed feels alive – pulsing with jangly guitars, candid lyrics, and vocals that ache with inner churn. There’s charm in its chaos, heart in its mess, and a beautifully human sense of unraveling at its core. It’s a record that thrives on tension and release, blurring glam, grit, and grunge into an unflinching portrait of heartbreak, anxiety, and self-discovery.
Holy shit I’m looking old
Another year inside my home
Thinking that my hair
Is the only thing that grew
I wanna promise someone new
But getting taller’s hard to do
Everyone’s just waiting on
Me to get a clue
Oh oh oh
What you want from me now?
The girls are stressed
And the dogs are barking
Oh, what did I do?
To take this shit away from you
Oh the girls are stressed
And the dogs are barking
– “The Girls Are Stressed,” Angelsaur
Released August 13 via Free Association, The Girls Are Stressed is Angelsaur’s boldest and most uncompromising statement to date. Co-produced and mixed by Andy Baldwin (Björk), the nine-track record is a sonically and emotionally charged coming-of-age soundtrack for life in your 30s, written during a period of personal upheaval and stillness. Long touring breaks, heartbreak, and the relinquishing of old identities became the backdrop for songs that grapple with aging, validation, sobriety, and the fragile pursuit of self-worth. From the swaggering strut of “Looking Up!” to the jagged urgency of “Choke Chain,” the aching surrender of “u & me,” and the cathartic finale “Around You,” Angelsaur channel their own intimate experiences and inner chaos into music that is as messy and magnetic as life itself.
“The album dives into my search for self-worth and confidence,” singer/bassist Logan McQuade tells Atwood Magazine. “A lot of the songs are me reckoning with the slow unraveling of something that had shaped so much of my identity.” That sense of unraveling bleeds through every note, yet so does the will to evolve: As the band themselves put it, The Girls Are Stressed is “a chaotic feast,” a record built to feel like a live show and to capture the unvarnished honesty of two artists pushing themselves to the brink – and then stepping fully into who they are.
The Los Angeles-based duo of singer/bassist Logan McQuade and guitarist Jonah Feingold, Angelsaur are no strangers to the stage or the studio. Both came up as touring musicians – McQuade has played with King Princess, Del Water Gap, Omar Apollo, and Fiji Blue, while Feingold has worked with Del Water Gap and Mark Ronson, even performing with Omar Apollo during his NPR Tiny Desk Concert – and they bring that live-honed energy into everything Angelsaur creates. Their debut album, 2023’s Children Disguised as Adults, introduced a band unafraid of grit and grandeur; The Girls Are Stressed builds on that foundation with greater ambition and vulnerability, capturing two musicians pushing their craft to the edge while holding nothing back.
That journey reaches its most vulnerable point in “Around You,” the album’s cathartic closer and perhaps Angelsaur’s most emotionally bare song to date. Written during the final months of a long-term relationship, “Around You” captures both the beauty and the detriment of finding oneself in another. What begins in quiet intimacy swells into a sweeping crescendo of layered harmonies, strings, and interwoven guitar textures – a dramatic release that embodies the record’s central tension between joy and despair, collapse and renewal. As McQuade sings, “Plant a little garden around you, let myself get tangled in the roots,” Angelsaur leave listeners tangled in the push and pull of devotion, dependence, and the difficult clarity that follows heartbreak.
“I sat down and wrote the main guitar line and the lyrics for ‘Around You’ in one sitting,” McQuade recalls. “We knew pretty quickly that this would be the album closer… I think it’s my favorite song I’ve ever written.”
I hope I might find
Myself in you
I’m picking at your bones
With all of my tools
The truth is a
Thought that hurts
I’m out of my mind
But I’m living in yours
I’m looking out your eyes
Right back at you
I’ve been digging every night
You’re the only thing
I can’t ever loose
I’m a tough guy
And you’re my tattoos
Time spilling out my purse
I spend it on you
‘Cause you give me worth
I’m pulling out my heart
For you to use
I’ve been digging every night
At once tender and intense, “Around You” was born out of stillness – after years on the road, McQuade found himself suddenly grounded in 2024, navigating a long touring break and the unraveling of a seven-year relationship. “I was at a pretty strange place in my life,” he explains. “I had been consistently touring since I got out of college, but for reasons out of my control, I was home for most of 2024. It gave us time to make this record, but it also made me reconsider a lot of things about my career and I lost some confidence and missed a lot of the validation of playing shows and traveling off of music. I really turned to my relationship for happiness, and this song explores the repercussions associated with that.”
The result is a dramatic, dynamic love song steeped in both beauty and desperation – one that seeks stability in a person when everything else feels uncertain. “I’m looking out your eyes / right back at you,” he sings, clinging to connection. “I’m pulling out my heart / for you to use.”
“When I wrote that song in the ending months of my relationship, I wrote it as a declaration of love,” McQuade shares. “Expressing the hope of finding yourself through another’s love and attention seemed, at the time, to be an accurate depiction of how important she is to me… Now on the other side of the breakup, I realize that it’s almost a declaration of dependence. I still love her, but I realize the detriment in relying on someone for the totality of your happiness and identity.”
That complex emotional evolution is embedded in the music itself, which builds from quiet intimacy into a soaring wall of sound. The final section of “Around You” is awash with layered harmonies, strings, and interwoven guitar textures – a sweeping crescendo of feeling that hits like catharsis. “Plant a little garden around you, let myself get tangled in the roots,” McQuade sings on repeat, letting go without ever fully releasing.
Plant a little garden around you
Let myself get tangled in the roots
Plant a little garden around you
Let myself get tangled in the roots
Plant a little garden around you
(I’ve been digging, I’ve been digging)
Let myself get tangled in the roots
(I’ve been digging)
Plant a little garden around you
Digging digging
Let myself get tangled in the roots
I’ve been digging
“We felt like ending on the idea that love is at the core of our identity was the perfect way to close the story of the album,” the band explain. “The track teeters between joy and despair and wrestles with the need for validation – an emotional thread that runs throughout the entire record.”
“Around You” may be a song about losing yourself in someone else, but it’s also about coming out the other side with a clearer view of who you are. It’s messy, magnetic, full of contradictions – and that’s exactly what makes it so special.
I’ve been digging
Every night
I’ve been digging
Every night
We still make music for ourselves first, but knowing it’s resonating with others is the best possible outcome. This record feels fully realized – no creative compromises, just exactly what we wanted to say, how we wanted to say it. It’s the clearest reflection of who we are right now.
Unfiltered, unguarded, and brimming with conviction, The Girls Are Stressed is a triumph of the heart and soul – one that confronts heartbreak, self-worth, and life itself with fearless honesty and unapologetic artistry.
It’s a record that doesn’t shy away from discomfort, but instead transforms doubt, dependence, and despair into moments of catharsis and connection. For Angelsaur, it marks both a reckoning and a resounding rebirth – proof that even in the thick of unraveling, music can be a space of healing. It’s this ability to capture life in all its beautiful contradictions that makes The Girls Are Stressed such a vital, visceral listen, and why Angelsaur’s sophomore album feels destined to resonate long after the final notes fade.
Atwood Magazine sat down with Logan McQuade and Jonah Feingold to dive into the restless spirit behind The Girls Are Stressed – from the chaos and catharsis that shaped its songs, to the anxiety of a world on edge, and the unflinching honesty that makes this their most cohesive and uncompromised work yet.
— —
:: stream/purchase The Girls Are Stressed here ::
:: connect with Angelsaur here ::
‘The Girls Are Stressed’ – Angelsaur
A CONVERSATION WITH ANGELSAUR
Hey Angelsaur, thanks for your time today! For those who are just discovering you today through this writeup, what do you want them to know about you and your music?
Angelsaur: Hey! Thank you so much – we’re stoked to talk to you. For anyone just discovering us: We’re a Los Angeles–born-and-raised duo who met while touring as members of King Princess’s band. Angelsaur started in hotel rooms on days off, writing when we could. We initially bonded over our shared love of David Bowie and Queens of the Stone Age, and that mix of glam, swagger, grit, and emotion still informs a lot of what we make. We both came up as live players, so we bring the energy of a live show into everything we record. Our music is dramatic, ambitious, and honest – we care deeply about craft, and we think that shows.
You’ve released four songs this year, including “Around You,” “Choke Chain,” “If I Could Catch the Rain,” and “Looking Up!” - what has the experience been like coming back to the fore with these tracks, and how do you feel they help capture your identity and artistry today, compared to that of a few years ago?
Angelsaur: We’ve both lived a lot of life since the first record, and just feel so much more adult. Our first record was called ‘Children Disguised as Adults,’ and the last couple years has really proven that sentiment true.
We became more ambitious with the songs and wanted to recontextualize the sound we crafted with our debut. We still recorded a lot of the elements of the songs at home, but really dug into the production with our trusted collaborator and wizard Andy Baldwin. Bringing him in as a production partner kicked the door open to make the songs sound massive and immersive; the whole record is mixed in ATMOS, which was a new undertaking for us. Our identity has always been rooted in the music itself – we’ve never been about forcing a persona. But this record feels like the most cohesive thing we’ve ever made. The album cover is a painting that visually represents the narrative of the record. Each song shows up as a moment in the artwork.
The response to these four singles has been incredible. People are paying attention to what we’re making, and that feels amazing. We still make music for ourselves first, but knowing it’s resonating with others is the best possible outcome. This record feels fully realized – no creative compromises, just exactly what we wanted to say, how we wanted to say it. It’s the clearest reflection of who we are right now.
“Looking Up!” has SUCH a seductive, sexy strut! What inspired you to release that first, and hit the ground hard with that track?
Angelsaur: Thank you! We felt like “Looking Up!” was the most accessible and captivating track on the record. It really set the tone for what we wanted to accomplish with this project – it’s sexy but sad, dancey but introspective – which pretty much sums up the sentiment of The Girls Are Stressed. The song explores that feeling of lying in bed, staring at the ceiling, unable to sleep while your anxieties jab at you – a feeling that mirrors the anticipation and vulnerability of putting out music. Releasing this one first felt cathartic. It was also the first song we fully finished, and for a while we considered dropping it as a standalone single. But once we brought “Looking Up!” to Andy Baldwin for mixing, we listened to our demos and realized we had a full record on our hands – and “Looking Up!” became the natural starting point for everything that followed.
Looking up at pictures
Hanging on my wall
I wonder should I fix them
Or let the framing talk
‘Cause I’m already down here
Laying on the floor
Pleading to whoever
Would walk into my door
I wish I had a quick cure
For feeling so appalled
When looking in the mirror
And wanting to dissolve
Cause I’m already pieces
Scattered round the room
I’m cut up and I’m sleepless
Propped up by my doom
Cause I’d be asleep by midnight
But my mind puts up a fight
Now 4 a.m. grips my throat tight
Out of spite
I close my eyes
I close my eyes
What’s the story behind your song “Around You”?
Angelsaur: I (Logan) sat down and wrote the main guitar line and the lyrics for around you in one sitting. The main part is a tele run through my Electro-Harmonix Micro POG pedal. We knew pretty quickly that this would be the album closer, I think it’s my favorite song I’ve ever written. I was at a pretty strange place in my life at the time of writing. I had been consistently touring since I got out of college, but for reasons out of my control, I was home for most of 2024. It gave us time to make this record, but it also made me reconsider a lot of things about my career and I lost some confidence and missed a lot of the validation of playing shows and traveling off of music. I really turned to my relationship for happiness; and this song explores the repercussions associated with that.
You’ve said this song is about “both the beauty and detriment of finding oneself in another.” What is it about, for you?
Angelsaur: When I wrote that song in the ending months of my relationship, I wrote it as a declaration of love. Expressing the hope of finding yourself through another’s love and attention seemed, at the time, to be an accurate depiction of how important she is to me. I felt like I had lost my identity, and thought that this person could give it back to me within some love wins, large romantic belief. Now on the other side of the breakup, I realize that it’s almost a declaration of dependence. I still love her, but I realize the detriment in relying on someone for the totality of your happiness and identity.
How does this track fit into the overall narrative of your sophomore album, The Girls Are Stressed?
Angelsaur: We felt like ending on the idea that love is at the core of our identity was the perfect way to close the story of the album. The track teeters between joy and despair and wrestles with the need for validation – an emotional thread that runs throughout the entire record. The final section, with its orchestra of guitars, strings, and layered harmonies, gives a real sense of closure. It’s the note we wanted to leave listeners with.
What do you hope listeners take away from “Around You,” and what have you taken away from creating it and now putting it out?
Angelsaur: We really believe that a song can mean different things to different people. But with “Around You,” we hope listeners come away with the idea that relying on love is both beautiful and dangerous, and that it’s okay to need someone.
For us, what we’ve taken away from creating and releasing it is just how wild it is to make honest music. You can write something you fully believe in, and then months later, in a different headspace or situation, those same words can reveal so much of what was informing your actions and feelings. But that’s the beauty of it – expressing yourself, even through pain, can lead to something meaningful and lasting. For us, that’s what this song became.
Why did you name your sophomore album The Girls Are Stressed? What can fans and new listeners alike look forward to hearing on it?
Angelsaur: The girlies are stressed! The title just felt like it captured the collective mood of our friends and families. Looking at the state of the country, it’s hard not to feel like things are coming apart. Stress is a constant, heightened presence in the day-to-day lives of the people we care about, and this record became a way for us to work through ours.
The phrase actually came from a period of time where we were making our first record out of Jonah’s house. Our partners at the time were hanging around watching us write and experiment without any clear plan for what we were making for what felt like months. One day the phrase, “the girls are stressed” popped into my head, and it just felt right.
This record pulls from all corners of our emotional range. We didn’t limit ourselves – we tried everything sonically and let the songs evolve on their own. I (Logan) was listening to a lot of house music during the making of the album, so there’s Angelsaur’s version of a house track on there. There’s also a hard rock song, a sugary late-2010s-style indie pop banger, and a few tracks that we wouldn’t even try and classify within a genre. Fans and new listeners can expect something raw, unexpected, and deeply human.
— —
:: stream/purchase The Girls Are Stressed here ::
:: connect with Angelsaur here ::
— —
— — — —
Connect to Angelsaur on
Facebook, TikTok, Instagram
Discover new music on Atwood Magazine
© Joseph Hunt
© Joseph Hunt:: Stream Angelsaur ::
