It’s been three years since waltzerr’s first show, but band founder Emily Waltzer remembers it well. “We had only been playing music in my friend’s bedroom for a year,” she recalls of the gig opening for Palettes at Seattle venue Funhouse. “We didn’t know how it was going to turn out. My mic didn’t work for half of the set.”
In spite of the mic issue, it was a good night, she adds. “It was a really tiny venue, which was kind of nice because it filled up quickly, so it felt like a large audience.”
When we caught up for a recent video call, Waltzer, now based in Los Feliz, and was getting ready for the release of the band’s debut album and a short, West Coast tour. Tomorrow Will Be Better, released via Share It Music on August 29, is an indie rock ride of the ‘90s variety with big, rolling drums, deep, dirty guitar and vocals reminiscent of bands like Bettie Serveert and Veruca Salt. Even the album’s cover, original watercolor-and-ink art by Regan Hand depicting a girl in a babydoll dress and a messy bob, lends a Sassy Magazine energy to the debut.
Smashing Pumpkins is an influence, “although we don’t lean that heavy into the shoegaze-y sound,” Waltzer clarifies. But, so are contemporary bands like Momma, Wednesday and Rocket. “Another one I’m really inspired by is the artist Prewn,” she adds. “I saw her band a couple weeks ago and it was one of the best shows I’ve ever seen live.”
Originally from Los Angeles, Waltzer graduated college in the midst of the pandemic and spent the next handful of years in Seattle, where the band formed. Lineup changes marked the beginning of waltzerr’s existence, until Waltzer, who is the singer and songwriter, clicked with bassist Anthony Coraggio and guitarist Schuyler Jensen. “It’s funny, we all come from very different backgrounds of music,” Waltzer remarks. “Anthony is from more of a jazz, punk background. Schuyler has more of a metal background and I have more of an indie rock background, but we’re all very serious in how we want to play. We wanted to really focus on getting shows and not just being a garage band.”
When waltzerr settled in as a three-piece, they had it in mind that they would make a full-length album. Then, Waltzer moved back to California, while Coraggio and Jensen remained in Washington. “We had all of these songs and we were doing shows,” she says. “We had been playing these songs for maybe six months now live and we kind of just got really comfortable with having this be our sound.”
So, they decided to stick it out as a band, even if the members were living on opposite ends of the West Coast. “It’s not the easiest. I will not lie,” says Waltzer. “I fly up a lot, back to Seattle, for shows and they’ll fly down a lot and we’ll do practices when we’re in either city.”
Voice notes came in handy while they were working on Tomorrow Will Be Better. “I would do a lot of pre-production stuff with our producer, who is in L.A. and would send the files, they would work on it and send it back,” she says. The band went on record in Omaha. “Our drummer who we had playing on the record, he used to work at the studio in Omaha and he recommended it,” she explains. “It’s a lot cheaper than recording in L.A. Flights are not cheap, but, all in all, it was cheaper to stay there for a week.”
Seattle-based record label Share It is a nonprofit, with a portion of the proceeds going to charity. Waltzerr opted for Tomorrow Will Be Better to benefit Northwest Harvest, a food justice group in Washington. “We did a couple food drive shows back in December/January with a bunch of bands and kind of got educated on food scarcity in our city of Seattle, especially, and other major cities,” says Waltzer. “With the current administration and all of the funding that they’re taking away from cities and foundations that provide food, we decided that this was probably a good way to give back to our community.”
She adds, “We still do charity shows, but we wanted something a little bit more tangible that would outlast us.”
Tomorrow Will Be Better by waltzerr is out now.
Liz O. is an L.A.-based writer and DJ. Follow on Instagram or sign up for the weekly, Beatique newsletter for updates on new stories and gigs.
Listen to the September, 2026 edition of Beatique, which also features music from Olivia Rodrigo, ear, Purity Ring, Brigette Calls Me Baby, Slayyyter and more.
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