Loop: Brainwash

Breakup Shoes

Album: Standing Still
Release Date: 2025
USA


In true indie rock fashion, “Brainwash” opens with a crash of guitar, whirling pads, and a minimal drumbeat—laying the perfect foundation for Zawisa’s clean, clear vocals, which carry a sweetness reminiscent of Ben Gibbard, frontman of The Postal Service. The accompanying video is shot mostly in black and white and features b-roll of the band hanging out across various vistas—from crashing waves to NYC views in Brooklyn. It’s carefree and unforced, perfectly matching the track’s tone. [More on Ear Milk]

Instead of being indoctrinated or convinced of something, I treat “brainwash” more to mean erasing the negative things from your mind, riffing on the concept of “tabula rasa”, the idea of being born as a blank slate. In the early lyrics, I was toying around with the word “lobotomy” but that felt a little too heavy-handed.

Nick on the term ‘brainwash’

Hey, Nick! Congratulations on your new single! Do you remember the very first spark — like a lyric, a riff, or even a random thought — that planted the seed for ‘Brainwash’?

Thank you for having me. I’m normally a “lyrics first” kind of writer, but Brainwash started with the rhythm guitar. I set out to try a new tuning, FACGCE (of American Football fame), and was just goofing around until I found a chord shape that felt good and rolled from there, humming along to find the melody.

‘Brainwash’ feels like it has a very particular emotional center. If you stripped away the production and left just the bones of the song, what would you say is its rawest truth?

I’d say when you get down to it, Brainwash is about the desire to be a better person. It’s about acknowledging the unconscious habits that we form over the years and trying to take back control of what we spend time thinking about.

It has a bright, almost breezy sonic feel, but the lyrics carry a heavier weight that feels like such a great contrast. You’ve mentioned how working with Charlie felt like finding a perfect sonic match and even forging a new chapter in your sound. What was it about his approach that clicked so well with you, and how do you hear that reflected in ‘Brainwash’ (and the rest of the album)?

I think Charlie just brought an element of fun into the recording process that we haven’t always felt in the studio. It was loose, there was no such thing as a bad idea. All five of us were in an 8’x10’ shed with no air conditioning in the middle of August tracking it which may sound miserable, but that type of closeness made the perfect environment for creating our favorite record to date.

The word ‘brainwash’ is loaded with imagery. When you landed on that as a title, were you more interested in its literal, cultural meaning, or how it works metaphorically in personal relationships?

I had a few different associations with the term “Brainwash”; I come from a Christian background and later studied psychology in college, but I wanted to play with the term meaning something other than the normal negative connotation it usually holds. Instead of being indoctrinated or convinced of something, I treat “brainwash” more to mean erasing the negative things from your mind, riffing on the concept of “tabula rasa”, the idea of being born as a blank slate. In the early lyrics, I was toying around with the word “lobotomy” but that felt a little too heavy-handed.

What themes does Standing Still talk about the most, and how does ‘Brainwash’ act as a doorway into that bigger picture?

Standing Still centers around feeling stuck, tired of the mundanity of the status quo, realizing a change needs to be made that a change is needed in order to grow and then taking action instead of taking the passenger seat in my life. Brainwash felt like the perfect opener because it’s about recognizing there’s a problem, setting up the arc of the rest of the album.

You describe yourselves as ‘earnest indie rock from the desert.’ That phrase sets a mood on its own — but what does it mean to you musically? Is it more about the geography, the emotional climate, or something else entirely?

The desert is a peculiar place. On one hand, it’s almost always sunny, which I think informs the often breezy and upbeat sonic feel to a lot of our songs. On the other hand, the desert is a harsh and unforgiving climate, tying into the melancholic nature of our lyrics. It’s a very unique place to grow up and I think that dichotomy has unconsciously shaped a lot of our sound.

Well, since our series is all about the music that stays on repeat, what’s been on loop for you lately — whether it connects to your sound or is just something you can’t stop spinning?

I’ve been absolutely obsessed with Wednesday and MJ Lenderman for months now. Wednesday’s new record just dropped and it’s gotta be my top candidate for album of the year.

Your band name has that memorable image. Do you guys actually have any ‘breakup shoes’ or objects you’ve carried with you from past relationships or moments, something that stuck the way a song title sticks?

Funny enough, I’m not a particularly sentimental person when it comes to objects; I don’t like holding on to things. I actually borrowed the term “Breakup Shoes” from a story a friend told me about shoes left at ex’s; but for me, the songs I’ve written in the aftermath of relationships are the most substantial momentos I’ve got.

Thank you and good luck with Standing Still again, Nick! 

Thanks so much for having me!

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