Rising indie rock band Pity Sex put out their second full-length LP, “White Hot Moon,” last Friday. On the heels of the album’s release, WSN spoke with the band’s drummer and co-lyricist Sean St. Charles to discuss making the new record, the different phases of a band and their new tour, which will see the band going back to the U.K.

St. Charles noted that they approached recording with far more confidence this time around.

“I think your first record is always like a bundle of nerves, and what comes out of that is very exciting, but it’s nice to have a more measured approach to a record,” he said.

Pity Sex played the U.K. last May and is set to return to Europe for this tour. Despite taking their act internationally, they have yet to venture to countries that aren’t English-speaking.

“I think it’s hard to go somewhere and not feel guilty about [not speaking the language],” St. Charles said. “It’s really relieving if you don’t, but there’s a factor of when you go to a different country and you can only communicate in English because it’s all you know and then you feel kind of stupid.”

Despite the cultural uncertainty, the band is interested in taking their act to global scenes.

“[In] the U.S., we’re so familiar with the cultural output that it’s easy to have a sense of where we’re popular. With Europe, it’s a little more difficult,” said St. Charles. “In the U.K., [we’re] cognizant of the scene, but the rest of Europe is kind of new territory. I have the sense that we’ll do well in countries that have music that sounds like us — Scandinavia has had dream pop bands forever, and I think Germany has a pretty big punk scene, so I think we’ll have a fun time.”

Back in the states, Pity Sex has been supporting big acts like Tiger’s Jaw while playing smaller shows. This tour sees them helming larger venues, such as New York’s Bowery Ballroom on June 10. The band will be supported by label mates Petal and queer punk duo PWR BTTM, who have been gaining traction since their SXSW appearance. St. Charles noted the importance of chemistry when picking touring mates.

“When you plan a long tour, you want to pick people you’ll get along with,” he said. “[Kiley Lotz] from Petal is a great friend. As for PWR BTTM, none of us have ever seen them; I was just into the record. I thought the band seemed really exciting, so we reached out to see if they were interested and snatched them up before anything else came along. They seem like the nicest people, so we’re really excited.”

St. Charles said that the band will probably dive back into writing after the tour, although they’ve yet to start.

“We’re basically touring for the rest of the year, and then we’re going to start working on new songs and maybe a new record in full force,” he said. “I think being in a band is about phases, and we’re going to enter a phase of touring quite a bit and then move back to writing.”

Along with recording new material, some band members are headed back to school and their jobs. They will continue to juggle their day-to-day lives with creating the fuzzed-out, ‘90s inspired tracks that have gained them a fanbase.

“[Figuring] out how all of that works is going to be big in the next year,” St. Charles said.

A version of this article appeared in the Monday, May 2 print edition. Email E.R. Pulgar at [email protected].