“I put a lot of pressure on myself with everything I do,” says Zayna Youssef, vocalist of the Sweet Pill, about her band’s sophomore record Still There’s a Glow, out March 13 via Hopeless Records. “I think we set the bar with our debut, Where The Heart Is, which is somewhat high for a band like us…But I did struggle at the beginning. I was constantly asking myself, ‘How do I do better?’ and I had to get rid of that mentality. Once I let go, it all started coming together.”  

Youssef’s word choice of “let go” is a deliberate one as it’s a variation of her (and her bandmates) favorite song from the new record. Closing out the thirteen-song album, “Letting Go” drips with authenticity. “I hail mary-ed it,” she laughs. “I was tired of being in my head, thinking ‘What do people want to hear’ and ‘What’s important?’”  

Guitarist Jayce Williams echoes her sentiments, describing the group’s shared pressure at having a platform now. “We did our first record when the world was shut down; there was no pressure…but now there’s a lot of folks listening and watching. It feels very strange to have a platform.”  

Through making their highly anticipated follow-up, the band realized that what people want to hear most of all is honesty.  

“I went through some depression last spring, and then I went into therapy. It was also a big turning point in my life as I was about to turn 30, while I’d written our first record when I was graduating from college—that’s a big change,” Youssef says. “Still There’s a Glow is about being at a low and climbing out of it.” 

Another highlight from the album is “Glow,” which sees the Sweet Pill take on a new sound. “We often get labeled an emo band (which is mostly true) but with ‘Glow,’ we are blurring the lines between labels,” the group wrote on their socials.  

To help promote the record, the band began a new venture on their socials called “Sweet TV,” a zany newscast that features the members of the band in quirky costumes. When asked where the idea came for this unique project came from, guitarist Sean McCall (who writes the skits) says, “Our music is pretty serious, but we like to have fun, so Sweet TV is showcasing more of our personalities…Mostly, it’s just taking antics from tour and inside jokes.”  

For a band as creative Sweet Pill, it comes as no surprise to learn that Youssef is the one who designs the majority of the group’s merch, logos, flyers, banners, vinyl layouts, and just about everything else in between. Graduating with a degree in art, she says if she wasn’t doing Sweet Pill, she would be doing design work in the music industry.  

In her free time, Youssef helps bands in her local scene with designs and more, offering advice and being an advocate for DIY bands. “I feel like I get to offer them something more than just art as well. Through Sweet Pill, I know what you should have and sell.”  

It’s rare to see a band on the rise like Sweet Pill—who in 2025 alone played festivals like Furnace Fest, Warped Tour, Slam Dunk, New Bloom, and even on the S.S. Neverender cruise—to be still so involved with their local scene, but that’s just who the band is.  

As for 2026, Sweet Pill plans to tour as much as they can. Currently, the band has a U.S. + Canada tour slated from the middle of March to the middle of April, featuring support from bands like Heart to Gold, Spaced and Stereosity. This tour, Youssef says, marks their biggest headliner yet. Keep an eye on their socials for more tour announcements later this year!  

Still There’s a Glow is out Friday from Hopeless Records and you can preorder it here. Follow Sweet Pill on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok for future updates.

Photo Credit: Mitchell Wojcik