Sometimes the most upbeat songs come from the heaviest places. Inner Wave's new single "CHILD" sounds like pure sunshine, all garage rock energy and nostalgic indie hooks, but it's carrying weight the band didn't ask for.

The LA-based Latin indie group dropped the track as the first taste of their upcoming album SEE YOU WHEN I GET BACK, due February 27, 2026. On the surface, it's a straightforward pivot toward the kind of high-energy sound that gets crowds moving. "We started to notice that the most energy we'd get from the audience was from upbeat songs," guitarist Elijah Trujillo explains. "We were really trying to capture that this album, so we ended up going back to our roots, stuff we grew up on, like garage rock, while still adding our own flavour."

That balance between familiar and fresh is what makes "CHILD" work. It's got the raw immediacy of the band's early sound but with cleaner production and sharper edges. The nostalgia here isn't forced or calculated. It's the sound of a band that's been through something and came out the other side with clarity about who they are.

What gives the song its real depth is context. Inner Wave has spent the last five years living through extremes. The band members got sober, dealt with personal growth that doesn't always feel like growth while you're in it, and lost two people who shaped their music: manager Gonzo Lubel and close friend and collaborator Bram Inscore. Those aren't minor footnotes. They're the kind of losses that fundamentally change how you see the world and what you want to say through your work.

"There's been such extreme highs and lows in the last five years for us," lead vocalist and guitarist Pablo Sotelo says. "There are big life things that you just can't ignore. There's no way around it."

That honesty cuts through on "CHILD." The song doesn't avoid its own contradictions. It's joyful without being naive, energetic without being escapist. If the rest of SEE YOU WHEN I GET BACK follows this thread, it won't just be another indie rock album. It'll be proof that sometimes you have to go back to find your way forward, and that the heaviest experiences can fuel the lightest sounds.

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