Waifs return for fans

An iconic West Australian folk-rock band will be back in Albany next month after the release of their seventh studio album.

The Waifs will drop their unlikely collaboration, Beautiful You, recorded in Byron Bay with producer Nick DiDia, on August 14.

Band member and former Albany resident Vikki Thorn said the album was unexpected after a three-year break after their 2011 Temptation tour, but the songs still echoed the band's hallmark characteristics.

"It's not a new direction but I think it sounds probably a little more polished than some of the other stuff we've done," she said.

Thorn said the band, which had been together for 23 years, weren't sure if they would continue playing together until the latest album emerged. "I think you get to a point with a band and you always assume there is going to be a natural end coming," she said.

"Our lives are so full outside of the band we weren't sure it could continue. I think it became obvious to us that we really wanted it… and to be able to work and live off what you love to do - your passion - and it would be stupid to throw that away."

Thorn said their dedicated fan base was what kept their music and passion going.

"We have such fantastic fans… and that's really what sustains our live career and our touring careers that those people still want to hear it," she said. "We've never stopped singing or playing at home; that's something that's a part of who we are as individuals."

The upcoming show will include new hits from their latest album but Thorn said to expect old classics like Lighthouse and London.