Interview: Toronto’s Next Week’s Washing Merge Energetic Alternative Rock with Reflective Shoegaze on New Single “Where Did I Go Wrong”

Toronto indie quintet Next Week’s Washing share “Where Did I Go Wrong,” an exhilarating new single that pairs soaring shoegaze textures with driving alternative rock. Serving as the latest preview of the band’s forthcoming second EP, the track captures the uncertainty of growing up in a rapidly changing world, exploring the self-doubt, anxiety, and search for identity that define a generation growing up in unprecedented times.

“It’s about trying to find yourself and becoming the person you want to be at a strange time in the world,” explains singer Miles Duffy. “There’s a level of anxiety and self-doubt that comes with being young nowadays, and we felt like it’s an important thing to write about because we’re all experiencing this culture firsthand.”

Written from the perspective of young people navigating an increasingly uncertain future, “Where Did I Go Wrong” reflects the quiet internal questions that often accompany growing older. Rather than offering easy answers, the song embraces uncertainty itself, examining what it means to search for purpose while constantly questioning your place in the world. That perspective has become a defining principle behind the band’s songwriting, as they continue documenting the emotional realities of their generation through honest, relatable storytelling.

That emotional tension is reflected throughout the song’s expansive sonic palette. Built around the contrast between a raw, driving guitar riff and shimmering shoegaze textures, “Where Did I Go Wrong” gradually grows into an immersive wall of sound. The band intentionally layered guitars throughout the arrangement, allowing the song to evolve from a sparse opening into a euphoric, emotionally charged finale.

The track continued evolving during pre-production with producer Dylan Frankland (Tallies), when the band realized the song was building toward a moment it hadn’t yet earned. Together they revisited the arrangement, writing an entirely new outro that provided both the instrumental release and lyrical resolution they had been searching for. What quickly became one of their favourite moments on the upcoming sophomore EP now serves as the emotional climax of the song, tying together its themes of uncertainty, reflection, and personal growth.

1. What did you enjoy most about creating this new release?

When we decided we wanted to get back into the studio, one of the things we really wanted to focus on was perfecting the sound and paying close attention to all of the detail within the tracks. We feel like one of the best examples of that is ‘Where Did I Go Wrong’.

When we started pre-production, the song was in a pretty different state from the final version. We didn’t have as many guitar lines written, and, most importantly, we didn’t have the outro. We spent a lot of time working on the arrangement and instrumentation, experimenting with different ideas and really trying to bring out the best in the song.

Seeing how much the track developed throughout the process was definitely the most enjoyable part for us. We’re really proud of where we ended up and feel that all the time and attention to detail really paid off in the final product.

2. Share a nugget of advice that has resonated with you most.

The best advice we’ve ever received is to stay as authentic to your music and personality as you possibly can. We all feel that when you’re writing from an honest place, what you create feels real in a way that’s difficult to replicate when you’re writing with a specific end goal in mind.

For us, we’ve found that authenticity is a huge part of what allows someone to identify with a band and feel like they’re really a part of something. If people are going to connect with you and what you’re doing, it has to come from somewhere genuine.

3. Who would be your dream artist/band to co-headline a tour with?

We’ve actually seen a ton of great gigs over the past year. There are so many great bands in their prime right now that would be awesome to play with. A few off the top of our heads are Just Mustard, She’s Green, Villanelle, Gurriers, NewDad, Sorry… you get the point (haha).

It would be really neat to share a stage with any of them, and if we got the chance to join them on tour, that would be even better.

Either way, if any of them come through Toronto again, we’ll be there!

4. What sets your music apart from others in your genre?

I think the main thing that sets us apart is the way we choose to record and mix our songs. With music on the shoegazier side of things, there’s often a tendency to push the vocals further back in the mix, so the lyrics and phrasing aren’t necessarily the focus and the vocals become more of an instrument, like another layer of texture.

We thought it would be interesting to take that shoegaze approach with the guitars while keeping the vocals right at the front of the mix.

Another thing that we think sets us apart is that our singer, Miles, fronts the band rather than playing guitar or bass while singing. That’s something we haven’t seen very often with shoegaze bands, and we think it sets us apart both musically and as a live band.

5. Tell us what your favourite song is at the moment and why.

Our favourite collective song at the moment would probably be Someday by The Strokes. We’re learning it as a cover for a gig we’ve got coming up.