Toronto art-punk quartet Bad Waitress is returning with its first full-length album in five years, unveiling the new single “Lovin’ Kind” as an introduction to a darker and more introspective chapter for the band.
Released August 31, the 2:26-minute track is the first advance single from In The Hollow, which is scheduled to arrive October 30, 2026, through Stomp Records. The release is accompanied by a new music video and the opening of digital and physical album pre-orders.
The self-produced record follows the group’s 2021 album No Taste and builds on the aggressive mixture of art punk, post-punk, garage punk and noise rock that has helped Bad Waitress establish a presence in Toronto’s independent music scene.
‘Lovin’ Kind’ Introduces a Darker Bad Waitress Sound
Bad Waitress — Kali-Ann Butala, Katelyn Molgard, Moon and Nicole Cain — recorded “Lovin’ Kind” with engineer Josh Korody at Wychwood Sound in Toronto.
While structured around the idea of a love song, the track approaches relationships through conflicting emotions, combining attraction and vulnerability with resentment and self-sabotage.
“Tell you I love you / Then destroy you,” Butala sings, before the chorus arrives with the declaration, “I’m not the lovin’ kind.”
Rather than offering a straightforward interpretation of romance, the song repeatedly shifts between intimacy and withdrawal. Its lyrics leave open whether the relationship at its centre represents affection, destructive behaviour or two people knowingly entering an unstable situation.
Musically, the release retains the abrasive qualities associated with Bad Waitress while pointing toward the more inward-looking themes expected to shape the upcoming album.
Toronto Punk Roots Built the Band’s Reputation
Bad Waitress developed its reputation through Toronto’s underground punk community, performing in intimate venues where the separation between musicians and audiences was often minimal.
The group emerged with Party Bangers: Volume 1 in 2018 before moving toward heavier material with No Taste in 2021.
Since then, the quartet has expanded its audience beyond Toronto and shared stages with acts including Fucked Up, L7, Rise Against, Wolf Parade and The Bronx.
The band’s music has drawn comparisons with L7, Babes In Toyland, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, METZ, Fugazi, The Stooges and Wire, reflecting its combination of abrasive guitars, forceful rhythms and unpredictable vocals.
New Noise Magazine previously described the group’s sound as an “all-out punk assault,” while Canadian music publication Exclaim! characterized its musical development as “a new type of rage.”
‘In The Hollow’ Explores Isolation, Identity and Changing Relationships
The October release of In The Hollow will mark a significant return for Bad Waitress following a five-year gap between full-length records.
The album developed partly from the personal and collective isolation experienced by the musicians over recent years. Its songs revisit memories and relationships while examining how perspectives can shift as people change.
Geography also plays a role in the record’s imagery. Members drew inspiration from the Northwest Territories and Pacific Northwest, where some of them grew up. Forests, expansive wilderness and a sense of mysticism became reference points for exploring uncertainty and isolation.
New Album Turns the Band’s Confrontational Energy Inward
Despite that broader landscape, the themes of In The Hollow remain personal. The album examines changing relationships, sexuality, identity and the experience of looking back at earlier versions of oneself from a different stage of life.
Rather than portraying personal transformation as a clean separation from the past, the record focuses on the uncertainty that can accompany change — including deciding which parts of a previous identity remain relevant and which can finally be abandoned.
For Bad Waitress, that represents an inward shift rather than a retreat from the confrontational energy that has defined the band.
“Lovin’ Kind” provides the first indication of that direction, retaining the quartet’s aggressive punk foundation while introducing the emotional tension and ambiguity expected throughout In The Hollow.
With the album scheduled for October 30 through Stomp Records, Bad Waitress is positioning its return not as a calmer or more polished reinvention, but as an exploration of new territory for the unease and intensity that have long characterized its music.