Dazzling energy, unrelenting drive, and irresistible pop/rock charm coalesce in Alex Little & The Suspicious Minds’ stunning debut album ‘Waiting to Get Paid’ to make an unflinching, immersive record that hits in all the right ways.
“Big Lies” – Alex Little & The Suspicious Minds
Dazzling energy, unrelenting drive, and irresistible pop/rock charm coalesce in Alex Little & The Suspicious Minds’ stunning debut album to make a record that hits in all the right ways. Catchy and nuanced, visceral and immediate, Waiting to Get Paid is a soaring, unflinching outpouring of passion and pain, desire and struggle ready to uplift our spirits with a heavy dose of immersive musical catharsis.
Yeah you grew up fast in the city,
you were always cool and ready for it all
you can walk real good in stilettos
walk around all night til’ you fall
everyone in the place wants to know you
cause you seem like everything they wanna be
if I could take all the lights in the world
and shine them in your eyes would you see?
A slight reflection in the glass
is worth your time dear
Atwood Magazine is proud to be premiering Alex Little & The Suspicious Minds’ debut album Waiting to Get Paid, out April 2, 2021 via Light Organ Records. The four-piece Vancouver band comprised of Little, Andy Bishop (White Ash Falls, Twin River), Cody Hiles (The Zolas), and bassist Mike Rosen, Alex Little & The Suspicious Minds debuted in March 2019 with a rollicking, garagey introduction titled “Black Haze,” which was followed shortly thereafter by a dynamic debut EP, No Control. A year later, the band’s singles “Broken Bones” and “Across the City” found them returning with the same uncompromising energy and commitment to honest, edgy, and meaningful lyricism. Their debut album arrives on the heels of February’s final single “Big Lies,” a bustling track coursing with driving drums and an utterly radiant bass line.
Call them indie rock, garage pop, what have you – Alex Little & The Suspicious Minds refuse to be overlooked, and they’re making their talents known one irresistible song at a time.
“This album just kind of happened. I’m honestly not even sure how,” Alex Little tells Atwood Magazine. “It’s just one of those crazy things that came together in a serendipitous way. I can’t say we really had a vision; we just started writing and then it blossomed naturally. It has definitely evolved from the songs we wrote at the beginning of the record into something different. It’s become exactly what it needed to become on its own.”
“I remember when we started writing for it I was in a really dark place, I was really depressed and drinking all the time. So half of the songs are really quite a bummer, and half are from when I was in a way happier place. So it’s a total mix on that front. I remember in the second half I started to sing more about made up stories and less about real depressing things that had happened to me or people I knew, this was a new way of songwriting that I ended up really appreciating. It’s actually way more fun to write a fictional story based on someone or something rather than a direct experience. It gives you more room to be creative, while still being able to connect emotionally to the song. If I had to summarize the theme of the album, it would really just be about depression, anxiety, how to cope with it and the issues that stem from it. Some of these issues could be money problems, relationship problems, drinking problems, and mainly just generally being detached from reality and everyone around you.”
“It was integral to have six weeks in the studio to really dial in these songs and allow them time to grow without feeling pressured, this really adds to the energy on the album. You can hear that we didn’t rush anything and were totally at ease. James Younger did an amazing job at producing and getting our best performances. He really knew how to make us excited, but also push us to get the best take. Vocals can be tiring and emotionally exhausting but he made it feel not like work at all. We’re really excited and proud of how we’ve developed as a band through writing and recording, and this album really solidified that.”
From the opening hits of “Broken Bones” to the soft and tender final moments of “Far From Home,” Waiting to Get Paid is a truly impassioned thrill. Non-single tracks like the groovy “Late Night Love” and the feverish “Grave” showcase the very best of the band’s lyrical and musical talents; elsewhere, the unapologetic honesty of title track brings us up-close and personal with the band, putting their art’s emotive qualities on full display. So much of Waiting to Get Paid feels like an empowered coming-of-age series, and yet there’s a maturity to these songs that far surpasses any coming-of-age story.
I’ve got no money, I barely ever have a dime
it used to be funny, but now I feel it in my spine
I slip in, to quicksand, I’m buried right up to my head
this wasn’t what I planned, am I alive, asleep, or dead?
Waiting to get paid
Lying in the bed I made
Did I make the grade
then I’ll die
“Waiting to get Paid is the title of the 4th released track on this album, and I think it’s something a lot of people can relate to,”A Alex Little reflects. “As an artist, it seems like it’s always a struggle to survive and you may find yourself living paycheck to paycheck. Credit card debt and student loan debt piles up while rent needs to get paid. Booze is consumed to cope with the bills. More money is lost. And so on and so forth. It’s a state of being you just accept, but at least you have the songs to give you purpose.”
For Little, Waiting to Get Paid is the introduction she never expected, but always wanted: As joyous as it is heated, it’s a charismatic and absorptive journey into the heart and soul of a band on the rise. “It’s the perfect blend of all of us as musicians,” she says. “It has something to say while being nice to listen to – which is all you can ask for in an album.”
Experience the full record via our exclusive stream, and peek inside Alex Little & The Suspicious Minds’ Waiting to Get Paid with Atwood Magazine as Little goes track-by-track through the music and lyrics of her band’s debut album!
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:: stream/purchase Alex Little and The Suspicious Minds here ::
‘Waiting to Get Paid’ – Alex Little & The Suspicious Minds
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:: Inside Waiting to Get Paid ::
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“Broken Bones”
“Broken Bones is a dark yet poppy adventure into the psyche of a serial killer, and the strange obsession we as a culture have with their behaviour. The video by Mat Dunlap perfectly captured our love for new wave and punk while still making something quite uniquely ours.”
“Big Lies”
Big lies is about a washed-up party girl, probably in her late 30’s to early 40’s trying to figure out why the old antics don’t work so well anymore. It’s a fictional story based on characters I’ve met throughout the years, and maybe a bit on myself.”
“Across the City”
”Across the City” is a memoir of growing up in Vancouver, I had the privilege of living in many neighbourhoods in the city (Commercial Drive, Mount Pleasant, Kerrisdale, Chinatown, West End, Hastings Sunrise) which came to be parts of me in their own way.”
“Still residing here, I get overwhelmed by how much each street reminds me of a story from my childhood and adulthood – no matter what area I’m in. It makes day to day tasks more interesting but also harder, as some things are painful to be reminded of. However, I wouldn’t have it any other way. It just makes Vancouver ripe for stories, memories, and emotions.”
“Late Night Love”
“Late Night Love” was inspired by a guy I was dating a while back. It didn’t go anywhere and maybe lasted a few weeks. One night he got totally wasted and called me a bunch of times at 4 am. In the morning I texted him “4 am eh? classy” and then he responded by saying “Guess I was looking for some late night love, hey you should write a song called that” So I did! I had the song skeleton done and brought it to the Sus Minds, as always they really brought the song to life and added the really cool bridge to the song. Then “Late Night Love” was born.
“Waiting to Get Paid”
When you can’t stop drinking and spending all your money, you’re always waiting to get paid.
“Grave”
“Grave” is about as happy as it sounds. It started one day when I was hungover and really depressed – I used to often use these times to write. It’s about death, knowing it’s coming eventually, and the coping mechanisms like substance abuse we use to dull reality.
“Dead Cold Eyes”
“Dead Cold Eyes” is about the exes who really did a number on you. The ones that hurt you so badly you wonder if they have any emotions. The ones who you can’t seem to escape from, no matter where you run to.
“I’ll Be Dead”
“I’ll Be Dead” is about heartbreak, and the things you say when you’re really angry and drunk – and how no matter how badly you wish you could take them back, you can’t. So you kind of just want to be dead. Especially the morning after.
“Once Again”
“Once Again” is about struggling with mental health problems. The lyric “I lost my mind” is about exactly what it sounds like – when you’re on the edge of sanity and you’re not sure if you’re gonna make it. This one really came to life when the band added all their parts. I only had the verses done and we finished the rest of the song together. It was just a simple idea that turned into something really cool.
“Far From Home”
“Far From home” was a really fun one to write! We wrote this one from beginning to end in the studio. Jonathan Simkin (head of Light Organ records) mentioned it would be nice to have a ballad on the album, so we wrote one. Mike’s beautiful piano part was easy to write a melody to – Andy easily added a pretty guitar – and Cody’s drums really finished it off. It’s about feeling lonely and forgotten, and waiting for someone to come home who never does.
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:: stream/purchase Alex Little and The Suspicious Minds here ::
‘Waiting to Get Paid’ – Alex Little & The Suspicious Minds
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