It took them awhile but She's Only Sixteen's debut album, Whatever That Was, is finally here. After their 2012 self-titled EP, the band took their sweet time writing, recording, as some of them pursued music individually. Drummer King Puentespina has found success producing under the monicker CRWN while vocalist Roberto Seña also moonlights as St. Vincent and the Grenadines. 

Officially released last September 30, 2017 via a launch party at Black Market, the 11-track album was well received among fans and the media. Produced by Mong Alcaraz (Sandwich, Chicosci), the band's first full-length record features a more curated set of songs from the quartet. It leaves out some songs such as the older 'Nothing To Say' and 'Walrus', and the newer 'Just Another Face On The Wall', which are found neither in the 2012 EP nor the newly released album. 

For a band that has been playing together for nearly a decade, the eventuality of growth comes as more of an expectation than a surprise; but She's Only Sixteen surprises nonetheless with choices that exhibit a more tempered style of songwriting coupled with a more experimental disposition in production. 

In this track-by-track guide, vocalist and primary songwriter Roberto Seña, guitarist Andrew Panopio, and sound engineer Pat Tirano share with us the stories behind the songs. 

She's Only Sixteen at their Whatever That Was Album Launch last September 30, 2017

Leave Me Out of It

Such a timeless sounding song that I never get tired of. It's everything I feel a modern sos song is - cruises, dips with the weight of the lyrics, ends in a crescendo.

- Andrew Panopio, guitars

'Leave Me Out Of It' was co-written with Paolo Arciga of The Strangeness. This a favorite of mine to play live. It's also a very sad song. 'I kill myself cause I can't be with someone else' Suicide is bad. Don't do it. I'm exaggerating. 

- Roberto Seña, vocals & guitars

Does Anyone Remember

We're still trying to get a natural feel of how to play this easily live. It's not easy. One of our dancier songs though that I really enjoy incorporating rhythm and muscle memory of chords with, especially during the choruses.

- Andrew Panopio, guitars

This is quite difficult to play live. We're usually not a tight band. The bridge has my favorite lyrics. Learn samba to enjoy.

- Roberto Seña, vocals & guitars

Perfect

The tremolo sounding guitar riff is actually a distorted piano. We also recorded sub bass for it kasi yummy.

- Roberto Seña, vocals & guitars

I like running to songs like these - steady beats with gradual peaks all throughout.

- Andrew Panopio, guitars

Sheep

'Sheep' was a trip. We had King record over 20 minutes of drums. After, we had him chop it all up CRWN-style, the way he wanted. After that, we jammed over it two times. Once with me on keys and King on guitar, then the other way around.

- Roberto Seña, vocals & guitars

Sheep was the fastest song we recorded. It was just something they jammed out of a two chord trip. It really showed how talented the band is, in producing their own parts in the studio. It was like a live recording for the bass guitars and keys, wherein we just layered and layered parts. When we got to the mixing stage, we started deleting what parts did not work out. The end product sounded like a dreamscape of ideas taking you into a big wave to surf. The ideas of the band wandered directly on the record, and the vocals of Seña floated like a butterfly on top of everyone. It was the easiest song to produce.

- Pat Tirano, Wombworks Audio Production

Our next album should have another version of this just cause this song changes each time we play it. Sheep 3 will have live sheep sampled. BAAAAH

- Andrew Panopio, guitars

Whatever That Was

Our oldest song.  Also one of the songs that came together through jamming. The chorus holds up so well, like it should have been in an early 2000s teen drama.

- Andrew Panopio, guitars

We rearranged some parts compared to the first demo recording 6 years ago. This is the only old song of ours I like.

- Roberto Seña, vocals & guitars

Conversational Liar

This is my favorite song to sing. I've been playing with my falsetto. I took some Homeshake from here. Lol. I think it's the balance between what we used to sound like and what we want to sound like.

- Roberto Seña, vocals & guitars

I love playing the drums. We composed this song with me on drums and we recorded it that way. I love how sad the intro goes and then happy at the verses, then sad again at the chorus. What a trip.

- Andrew Panopio, drummer (for this track)

Favoritism 

'Favoritism' is me back pedaling into that funner sound I grew up doing. Fun song.

- Roberto Seña, vocals & guitars

This is my favorite track after Sweden. It has remnants of our older song as a band - more energy and all. How could you not go wild at the chorus?

- Andrew Panopio, guitars

Monologue

Damn good lyrics. Seña might be a little crazy in this one. Turned out into such a delicate song, ending in rage.

- Andrew Panopio, guitars

Fucked me up lyrically. It's my least favorite track from the album. 

- Roberto Seña, vocals & guitars

The best song (in the album) for me is Monologue. It is the kind of song that I really did not have to mix much. Each member really had a character in the song so much so that changing much of that character will ruin the mix. It’s one of those songs that sounded good from the recording stage, and should just carry out a very raw sound, which i believe represents the band well. The boys really grew up a lot and I’m just happy they chose Wombworks to make the first album.

- Pat Tirano, Wombworks Audio Production

Coke Head

'Coke Head' is not about cocaine. The draft title on pro tools was 'Just Another Face On The Wall''s 'Coke Head' cousin. Same vibe.

- Roberto Seña, vocals & guitars

This song's about people working their asses off. In a way it's a portrait of who we are as individual bandmates. No, we're not coke heads. We're just hanging on to our passions and the jobs that sustain us.

- Andrew Panopio, guitars

Sweden

The drums are sampled from a Mac De Marco [track]. If he sues us, I will be honored. I love this track. The original demo of this on SoundCloud has Jess Milner laughing in the background on the vocal track.

- Roberto Seña, vocals & guitars

I love dancing to this song. It gets a little hard when I get a bit of a headrush from standing up after tinkering with my delay pedal at the intro.

- Andrew Panopio, guitars

Magic

'Magic' is such a long song and recording it was a bitch. I drank a lot so I could do the screaming part. One day this song will end my throat.

- Roberto Seña, vocals & guitars

This song deserves to be a film; and we're so excited to have our friend, Jorel Lising, make one for this for us! The whole song is a journey that ends with the beginning. The intro riff gains a bit more story and voice when it's played after the whole song.

- Andrew Panopio, guitars

She's Only Sixteen's Whatever That Was is available for streaming on Spotify and Apple Music under Party Bear Records. Physical copies of the album are also on sale at Satchmi.