Photo via Negative/Positive / Facebook
Negative / Positive
For bands, origin stories matter. Knowing how an act came together seemingly gives listeners a window into the band’s creative process, while simultaneously creating a real connection between fan and artist. But origin stories can also be limiting, particularly for the artists themselves. What happens, in other words, when you outgrow such creation myths?
That’s the question that Milwaukee-based act Negative/Positive address with their new album, the ten track Mint Bag (Bag Full of Mints). It’s common knowledge within the Milwaukee music scene that the band formed during a Girls Rock camp in 2013, a fact that’s noted in pretty much every article about the act (including this one). Yet it’s now 2021 and the band—currently featuring members Ava G (vocals and guitar), Ava A (drums), Roxie (bass and vocals), and Pd (keys and vocals)—has crafted a confident, streamlined album that builds off the promise of the band’s earlier material as it pushes their take on ‘90s-inspired indie rock in new directions.
This does not mean that the band has changed its sound entirely; the quirkiness and sense of abandon that marked such earlier material is still present. “Bathroom Sink Water,” for example, finds the band enthusiastically screaming “I like girls!!!/ I like girls, girls, girlsgirlsgirlsgirls”. Yet Mint Bag (Bag Full of Mints) also documents a band maturing as it looks back. To record the album, Negative/Positive left Milwaukee and booked time at the Blast House in Madison. It was the band’s first recording as a four-piece, a development that informed not only the songwriting process, but the recording session itself. “We recorded the album ‘live’ in the sense that we played all parts at the same time of one at a time,” notes Pd. “It definitely gave it a live feel and let us play off each other’s energy.”
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Restless Quality
The band’s collective energy gives the album’s 10 tracks a restless quality, in a good way. The lyrics on Mint Bag (Bag Full of Mints) mirror this sonic restlessness, finding the band questioning everything—from love, to friendship, and even their own pasts and futures (both individual and collective). “We didn’t set out to make a goodbye album,” explains Ava G, “but especially in the pandemic it’s been hard not to live in a state of nostalgia. I think it’s a combination of reminiscing on the past and trying our best to pin down whatever it is we’re feeling in the present.”
Such a perspective leads the band to explore some uncomfortable territory. In such a state of transition, relationships can often evolve, or even fall apart. As the band asks on standout track “Since Now and Also Since Before”: “why don’t you care about me?/you can’t be half of someone’s friend when you’re their everything/you were everything”. In describing such lyrics, Ava G notes that “I like that I’ve managed to recreate that feeling of both platonic and romantic love at the same time, sort of melding into each other.” This is especially the case, as bassist/vocalist Roxie elaborates, when it comes to LGBTQ+ relationships. “In my experiences,” she continues, “LGBTQ+ friendships can easily turn into one person have a crush on the other, so I find the lyrics that blur the lines between friendship and partnership to be really understandable. I think these lyrics convey exactly how those situations play out.”
Early adulthood, as such lyrics suggest, is often a tumultuous time in one’s life. The same is true for those who make up Negative/Positive. No member is exactly sure what will come next, though it seems some sort of change is inevitable. “I think it’s going to be really hard to let go of this band,” concludes Ava A. “I’ve been part of it for half of my life, and I’m not really sure what I’ll do with myself once it’s done.” Mint Bag (Bag Full of Mints) expresses such feelings with unwavering honesty. It is an album not to be missed.
Mint Bag (Bag Full of Mints) will be released on March 26, 2021. For more information, visit Negative/Positive's Bandcamp page.
