When a band nicely into their profession self-titles their album, you recognize they’re attempting to make some kind of assertion. For Hovvdy, their fifth file marks a decade of musical partnership between longtime associates Charlie Martin and Will Taylor. The 19-song double-album stretches out to symbolize the various layers and delicate stylistic adjustments that the duo have settled into through the years, from their early days of fuzzy, bottled-up bed room pop to their more moderen explorations marrying digital beats with nostalgic, forlorn people songs.
Since leaving their residence state of Texas (Martin is now based mostly in St. Louis, Taylor in Nashville), the 2 have discovered themselves busy with the newlywed life, and within the case of Taylor, determining parenthood. Whereas their final album True Love was mired in romance and eagerness to begin a brand new chapter, Hovvdy digs deeper and introduces diverging views, noticing that point doesn’t await something and continues transferring by means of the happiest and most not sure moments. Hovvdy’s balanced, sincere method permits them to zoom out, leading to an album that reveals an all-encompassing and weak model of themselves.
Hovvdy weaves out and in of all of the totally different types that the duo have delved into on their previous work, damaged up by a number of sombre piano interludes. Martin strums an acoustic guitar over a easy programmed drumbeat on “Without end,” not in contrast to a sunny ’90s radio-rock track, whereas on songs like “Clear” or “Angel,” he dials it again, enjoying in a hushed method harking back to 2018’s lo-fi Cranberry. To not be outdone, Taylor’s tender “Heartstring” is a beautiful little nation track, dressed with some gentle auto-tune. “Jean” additionally finds the pair leaning nation, speckled with playful piano and an plain, bustling power.
The woozy “Shell” mixes Hovvdy’s slowcore roots with Taylor’s knack for vibrant pop melodies. These instincts are intensified even additional on the lullaby-like riff on “Each Change,” which is colored by a skittering beat and pitch-shifted vocals not in contrast to strategies in Alex G’s wheelhouse. The pattering raindrop electronics are additionally distinguished on the Martin-led “Bubba,” about getting by means of some actually laborious occasions together with his siblings. Household issues proceed to be a theme on “Make Ya Proud” and “Track For Pete,” two songs Martin dedicates to his late grandfather. On the previous he cries, “Everybody wants slightly extra time / Goddamn do not all of us want extra time,” one thing anybody who’s misplaced an in depth member of the family would perceive. Hovvdy each celebrates the pure, heat love that Martin and Taylor really feel of their lives now whereas dealing with the troublesome realities of loss. Time is just too quick once we want it most, all the time slipping away earlier than we will admire that we had it.
Martin and Taylor swap roles as principal songwriter all through the album, parallel to the extraordinary bond they share in actual, regular life. By the ups and the downs, the Hovvdy boys have one another’s backs. Their plain chemistry feels so pure at this level that typically you overlook you are listening to 2 distinct voices. On the intense, shuffling “Dangerous Information,” their boyish vocals commerce off on verses amidst a Pinback-like extremely easy, hyper rhythmic bassline, the place Taylor sings, “‘Trigger you recognize my time is all I’ve / To surrender your love for nothing / I will not know why / Til I allow you to go.” It is a direct callback to the melancholic “Til I Let You Know,” a track that seems earlier on the album with nearly the very same refrain, besides right here it looks like Taylor is on the verge of tears throughout an extended drive residence. It is a good, but delicate train in perspective and way of thinking.
The light however firmly supportive songwriting on Hovvdy locates these obscure emotions and illuminates them with totally different lights. The pair have absolutely blossomed from their early DIY begin, showcasing an unimaginable vary of indie pop craftsmanship and a grounded centredness constructed on empathy and understanding.
