Seattle trio Warren Dunes remind us that there’s plenty of time left in “Freestyle Day Spa,” a soothing, psych-soaked, beach rock reverie off their second album ‘Aquamarine’ that comes to life with a joie de vivre attitude and a smoldering sound.
Stream: “Freestyle Day Spa” – Warren Dunes
When we wrote this song, I was thinking about a quote that a friend told me growing up: ‘We have all the time needed to do the things we want to do.’
At least once a week, I find myself wishing there were more hours in a day.
There’s never enough time, I tell myself – or, more often than not, I exclaim, to no one in particular. Sometimes I’ll lament these sentiments to my friends, and together we’ll all commiserate over how short our days and weeks feel – how life is moving too fast, everything is all a blur, and there’s never enough time!
We’re wrong, of course; life is long, and if we could only see the forest for the trees, we’d realize that we’ve got all the time in the world to do whatever it is we want to get done. There’s no big rush; there’s no looming deadline. Take each day in stride, and everything will be alright. Seattle trio Warren Dunes remind us that there’s plenty of time left in “Freestyle Day Spa,” a soothing, psych-soaked, beach rock reverie with a joie de vivre attitude and a smoldering sound.
Growing up is hard
Growing up is fun
Growing up is all you’ve ever done
Teacher said to work
Teacher said to try
Teacher said to never ever lie
Atwood Magazine is proud to be premiering the Jeff Larson-directed music video for “Freestyle Day Spa,” the opening track off Warren Dunes’ recently-released sophomore album, Aquamarine (May 17, 2024 via Jenny Invert Records). Initially released as the record’s lead single back in March, “Freestyle Day Spa” is a dynamic and definitive mission statement – not to mention a powerful reintroduction to the trio of Julia Massey, Jared Cortese, and Dominic Cortese and their self-proclaimed “post-modern beach music.”
Someone said to stop
Someone said to laugh
Someone said to put your feet to path
There’s plenty of ground left
There’s plenty of ground left here
Formed in 2017, Warren Dunes are multi-dimensional in sound and scope, their music a delightful (and unapologetic) melting pot of indie pop, art-rock, psychedelia, tropicalia, surf rock, beach rock, and more. What they lack in easily definable categorization, they make up for in heaps of sonic sunshine; their music is often warm and bright, even when the lyrical topics themselves are darker and more brooding. “Freestyle Day Spa” is the perfect example of this; Massey sings of all the structures, rules, and regulations others put on us throughout our lives in a manner that is welcoming, even uplifting, despite there being so much more emotion than meets the eye:
Hearts’ll learn to love
Hearts’ll learn to hurt
Hearts’ll learn to eat a peck a dirt
Parents wanna help
Parents wanna hope
Parents wanna keep the ship afloat
“As we journey through the phases of life, sometimes we can feel rushed. When we wrote this song, I was thinking about a quote that a friend told me growing up: We have all the time needed to do the things we want to do. It’s become a mantra for me as I grow older,” Warren Dunes’ Julia Massey tells Atwood Magazine. “This song aims to remind ourselves and our listeners that we have plenty of time left to experience joys, sorrows, and learn all kinds of lessons.”
The “Freestyle Day Spa” music video brings out the band members (and our own) inner children; shot at The Sunset Tavern in Seattle, it sees them and four teenage actors transitioning from stoic beings to playful spirits basking in a balloon pit. The message? Relax and have fun.
“The video was mainly shot at The Sunset Tavern, our favorite local Seattle music venue,” Massey smiles. “We blew up a thousand blue balloons to transform it into a magical underwater realm. I play the role of a Poseidon-like ocean goddess, assisted by my bandmates, that has taken an interest in four teenagers who are trying to navigate the ups and downs of adolescence. The psychedelic underwater setting symbolizes the surrealness of this time of life, and my character is kind of the orchestrater of all the chaos. We had a blast working with the incredible teenage thespians from our community who star in the video. Their roles reflect the main meaning of the song: Have fun, savor the present. There’s plenty of time left here.“
No one really knows
No one really tells
No one knows the mystery so well
Plenty of time left
There’s plenty of time left here
Plenty of time left
Plenty of time left
Plenty of time / ground left…
Plenty of time / ground left here
As inspiring as it is smile-inducing, “Freestyle Day Spa” is an instant and endearing highlight off Aquamarine, which arrives over three years after Warren Dunes’ 2021 pandemic-era debut album, Get Well Soon (whose cover features the Statue of Liberty wearing a USA facemask and green and yellow Seattle Supersonics jersey, holding a palm tree in one hand and a keyboard in another). Lively, dynamic, emotionally charged and achingly impassioned, Aquamarine is loosely based on a journal Massey wrote while on a therapeutic mushroom trip through Carkeek Park in Seattle. “The record grapples with the artist’s compulsion and purpose with their craft,” she shares. “And, as usual, the themes of death and rebirth are ever present.”
The songs are all either directly or indirectly about water and the sea. “We think water is really psychedelic, and putting everything through that filter fit perfectly with what we were trying to do with the vibe for Aquamarine,” Jared Cortese adds.
The entry that inspired “Freestyle Day Spa” reads as follows:
There is still so much laughter
Between all these rhymes
There’s plenty of time,
Just plenty of time
Whether you’re moved by the music or the message, Warren Dunes hope you come away from their new music video with a self-assured, can-do attitude.
There’s a reason Julia Massey sings the chorus line on repeat: There’s plenty of time life, there’s plenty of time left, there’s plenty of time left, there’s plenty of time left, there’s plenty of time left… Take it to heart. Let it be your mantra; the words you tell yourself when you feel overwhelmed and anxious, when the clock seems to be ticking too fast. There’s plenty of time life. It’ll all be okay in the end.
Relax in repose with Warren Dunes’ sweetly seductive tropical beach rock music, and stream “Freestyle Day Spa” exclusively on Atwood Magazine!
The band’s sophomore album Aquamarine is out now on Jenny Invert Records.
— —
:: stream/purchase Aquamarine here ::
:: connect with Warren Dunes here ::
Stream: “Freestyle Day Spa” – Warren Dunes
— — — —
Connect to Warren Dunes on
Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, Threads, Instagram
Discover new music on Atwood Magazine
© Brady Harvey
© Brady Harvey:: Stream Warren Dunes ::
