We Speak Music

The Chelsea Curve Reveal Stunning Sophomore Album ‘The Rideout’

Published

6 months ago

May 1, 2026

The Chelsea Curve are a Boston-based band, and they’re back with their sophomore album The Rideout. Across its runtime, the album blends their mod-pop influenced roots with anthemic rock influences and grungy, danceable beats; in short, they’re here to move you with intent.

They open the album with ‘Ride’, a propulsive song that leads with crunchy guitars and crashing drums forming the basis of the energetic rhythm. It could easily draw parallels to Veruca Salt’s ‘Seether’ in its raw driving force – it pinpoints a very grungy rock sound but reframed into something immediately danceable. It introduces one of the album’s through-lines through its lyrics: ‘Gotta feel I’m alive’,‘Everyone’s invited!’, framing aliveness as something communal, not solitary.

‘Kindawanna’ continues the energy within a love song, repeating the simple statement: ‘Kindawanna be your everything!’. It conveys someone caught up in the rush of emotion. It’s a song that begs to be danced to, the chorus bursts in like sunlight, introducing love as a perspective shift: ‘With you / Outside of everything / Yeah, with you/ The upside of everything’. It adds depth to the album’s emotional landscape, reframing the album’s central thesis of shared aliveness within the context of two people.

Elsewhere, ‘Never Come Down’ is an upbeat track that calls back to the crunchy guitar and heavy drums of ‘Ride’ – it builds into something anthemic and nostalgic in tone with a driving focus on euphoria and escape. The lyrics lean heavily on cosmic and scientific language, which become symbolic stand-ins for freedom and transformation, reflecting a more free-spirited approach to life; an approach that reflects ‘Ride’’s all-encompassing perspective on community and joy – one of collective release and freedom.

The album closes on ‘Rally ‘Round’, a song that reflects the album’s emphasis on community.

Lyrics that read folk-inspired but delivered through a grungy, Letters to Cleo-esque lens. Repeated imperatives – ‘Count your friends’, ‘Keep ’em close’, ‘Find your people now’ – read as a lyrical manifesto. There’s a vulnerability in the song’s urgency to emphasise the importance of ‘find[ing] your people now’, hinting at how fragile and time-sensitive connection can feel. The Chelsea Curve positions community as essential; not just celebratory, but necessary.

The Rideout is an album that functions as a sincere call to community and joy – from the lyrics to the danceable beats of the songs, it’s an album that moves you both physically and emotionally. It invites listeners into a power pop/garage rock fusion world where euphoria and community are inseparable.

“The Chelsea Curve don’t just make music, they make you move,” music publicist Danielle Holian, Decent Music PR, shared. “With The Rideout, they’ve taken everything fans loved about their debut and turned it up a notch: bigger hooks, wilder energy, and songs that stick in your head long after the last note

Follow The Chelsea Curve on Spotify, Bandcamp, YouTube, Linktree, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok

More from We Speak Media:

We Speak Folk

Happy Sad Unveils Cinematic Video for New Single “Changeable”

Published

2 hours ago

October 26, 2026

We Speak Media

Ambient folk project Happy Sad has released the music video for “Changeable,” a track from the album The World Is Grand When We See, out now via Epictronic.

Built as a post-classical piece, “Changeable” moves through Eastern-inspired scales and instrumentation, unfolding with constant variation in mood and structure. The composition reflects a clear focus on contrast and movement, with musical ideas shifting rapidly rather than settling into repetition.

The track was originally developed under the working title “NHK Taiga Drama Style,” inspired by the orchestral openings of Japanese historical dramas. Those themes, known for their intricate arrangements and frequent shifts, shaped the piece’s structure — each section was designed to evolve quickly, creating a sense of changing scenery within a short runtime.

Happy Sad describes the writing process as a long-held idea that stayed unused for some time, originally envisioned for potential outside projects. When no fitting context emerged, it was developed independently into its final form, keeping the original concept intact: a composition built around transition, motion and emotional variation. The result is a focused, cinematic work that connects ambient folk sensibilities with post-classical orchestration and subtle Eastern influences.

Happy Sad is the solo project of Hiroaki Kusano, a Japanese artist and sound professional based in the game industry. He began making music during his student years, playing café bar gigs and recording demos. His influences take in soul, British rock, folk, trip hop, neoclassical, world music and film scores, alongside a strong connection to literature, and his recordings balance live instrumentation with programmed elements. To date, Happy Sad has released seven albums and 19 EPs.

Outside the project, Kusano has around 14 years of experience as a sound designer and sound director in the games industry, contributing to more than 60 projects at companies including NetEase Games, FunPlus, NHN PlayArt and Noisycroak Inc. In 2013, his track “Everyday” won the domestic DJ category and reached the finals of MTV and Lenovo’s CO:LAB contest. In recent years, he has travelled across ten countries in search of sounds and traditional instruments — and the encounters along the way have shaped his approach to music as a form of shared human expression.

The World Is Grand When We See is out now via Epictronic. Stream the album here: https://orcd.co/twgwws — and connect with Happy Sad at happysadsong.com and on Instagram @happysad_kusano.

Photo: Epictronic Records