Hailing from Nashville, Tennessee, The Love-In is a self-proclaimed rock and roll band consisting of lead vocalist Laurel Sorenson, guitarist Emma Holden, drummer Michael Rasile, and bassist Max Zikakis.

Their 2016 debut, Don’t Love Nobody, was a critically-heralded debut from outlets who praised their raw and sound, with The Nashville Scene saying, “Laurel and the Love-In [is] a bright spot for anyone who’s still bitter about The White Stripes’ breakup. They’ve got a blues-rock sound that channels Elephant and vocals from frontwoman Laurel Sorenson that vaguely evoke Jack White’s.”

However, they recently re-branded to The Love-In, and their upcoming EP, As It Lays, is the first EP under this new moniker. The EP is set to be released next Friday, September 18th, and was produced by Collin Pastore (Lucy Dacus, Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers). The five-song EP is about freedom and recognizing the ways in which social norms and gender roles discourage individuality and the mirage that conformity is what we ought to strive to achieve.

On As It Lays, The Love-In was predominantly inspired by strong female authors and artists and the way that they were portrayed across literature, music, and movie. “The title track ‘As It Lays’ was inspired by Joan Didion’s 1970 novel, ‘Play it As it Lays.’ I read it at a time when it felt like my whole life was falling apart,” main songwriter Sorenson explains, “Didion’s journalistic approach to despair resonated with my own outlook. The main character has very little personal sovereignty, but finds that driving on the freeway each morning is a way to bring order to her personal chaos.”

Album closer “Pure Gold Baby” itself was inspired by two strong pieces of literature – Sylvia Plath’s poem “Lady Lazarus”, published posthumously in 1965, and Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique, which often is credited for kicking of the second-wave feminism in the United States. “I read both works thinking I would see what it must have been like for women in the 1960s, but was shocked to find my own experiences reflected back at me,” says Sorenson, “They never have to think about what they want for themselves. They are discouraged from analyzing their own lives. ‘Pure Gold Baby’ is about what it’s like to try and live up to the ideal of the perfect woman. Trying to be someone’s dream girl can turn you into a real nightmare.”

Still deeply personal, As It Lays also draws on experiences and conversations from Sorenson’s own life. “‘Save My Life’ came out of a conversation with my friend and co-writer Kaycie Satterfield about the expectations of womanhood. We talked about how society puts women into categories that are reflected on the screen. As little girls we were often asked about who our favorite Disney princesses were, and realized the answer to that question informed the kind of women we hoped to become. As we got older we realized that pornography also informed how people viewed woman and how they were expected to look and behave. The ways women are portrayed are often contradictory to one another and entirely unrealistic. ‘Save My Life’ was about letting go of those images and expectations and laughing at how unachievable they are for real women.”

Today, Substream is thrilled to be teaming up with The Love-In to exclusively premiere As It Lays a day early, as well as a track-by-track breakdown on each song from the EP. Directly below you will find our stream of the release, followed by the track-by-track commentary from Sorenson.

If you like what you hear below, you can pick up your copy of As It Lays here.

Track-by-track from Sorenson:

As It Lays

This song was inspired by Joan Didion’s 1970 novel, Play it As it Lays. I read it at a time when it felt like my whole life was falling apart. Didion’s journalistic approach to despair resonated with my own outlook. The main character has very little personal sovereignty, but finds that driving on the freeway each morning is a way to bring order to her personal chaos.  

“As it Lays” is about coming to grips with the idea that the universe is detached and unsentimental. It’s a game of chance and all you can do is play the cards you’ve been dealt.  

SAVE MY LIFE 

“Save My Life” came out of a conversation with my friend and co-writer Kaycie Satterfield about the expectations of womanhood. We talked about how society puts women into categories that are reflected on the screen. As little girls we were often asked about who our favorite Disney princesses were, and realized the answer to that question informed the kind of women we hoped to become. As we got older we realized that pornography also informed how people viewed woman and how they were expected to look and behave. The ways women are portrayed are often contradictory to one another and entirely unrealistic. “Save My Life” was about letting go of those images and expectations and laughing at how unachievable they are for real women.  

BARBRA 

“Barbra” is named for Barbra Streisand because of how deeply I related to her character in “The Way We Were.” It’s about feeling like an other in a homogenous environment, surrounded by people that can’t acknowledge their own privilege. It’s about being fetishized and viewed as “exotic” to those who lack the ability to empathize with people who don’t look like them.  

KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT 

This is a song about trying to resist a sweet talker. There is something delicious about someone who cuts through the din of conversation and draws you in with an enticing intellect.  

PURE GOLD BABY 

This song was inspired by Sylvia Plath’s “Lady Lazarus” along with Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique. I read both works thinking I would see what it must have been like for women in the 1960s, but was shocked to find my own experiences reflected back at me. In The Feminine Mystique, Friedan describes the process by which women are kept in a childlike mental state when they marry young, going from dutiful daughter to an obedient wife and mother, thinking only of the needs of others. They never have to think about what they want for themselves. They are discouraged from analyzing their own lives. “Pure Gold Baby” is about what it’s like to try and live up to the ideal of the perfect woman. Trying to be someone’s dream girl can turn you into a real nightmare.