Hovvdy share new track ‘Forever’ and announce their fifth album
Indie-pop gems Hovvdy have made a welcome comeback by announcing details of a self-titled new bumper double album, arriving on April 26th, 2024.
Hovvdy were a key player in the late 2010s indie scene, collaborating with the likes of Loafer and Lomelda, their early EPs perfectly bottled the energy of the genre as they swayed between downtrodden, angsty cuts into soaring, upbeat numbers.
Across their four albums, the band curated a sound that was utterly their own, managing to be both intricately made without being overdone. Hovvdy maintain a kind of magical ease that colours all their music with a sense of real intimacy in the sad songs or outright joy in the happy ones.
As they make their comeback, the new single ‘Forever’ brings joy in abundance. Along with last year’s singles ‘Bubba’, ‘Jean’ and ‘Portrait’, the new track suggests bigger and bolder things are coming. The love song, complete with sentimental lyrics, interesting audio details like record scratches and the band’s enduring love for harmonies, ‘Forever’ is polished but doesn’t lose its heart.
The track seems to signal a new era of maturity for the band, both musically and as people. On the double-album, family and parenthood is a major theme. Charlie Martin said of the project, “It’s a full circle, because lots of my songs, in adulthood, deal with looking back and seeing your parents as just individuals struggling through life — and trying to have more empathy or understanding.”
He added, “And now Will is diving in from the opposite side as a new parent, grappling with all that.”
It comes after the band asked themselves, “How can we convey our songwriting in a new way?” Deciding to let their heart lead on the feeling but push their skills to new places, they describe the album, they said of the process, “We’re trying to stretch out and create a tapestry of everything we can do.”
Force to approach the music differently as they navigate big life changes after a decade of being in the band, they seemed to land on real vulnerability and fight. ‘Forever’ isn’t a track coming from a band resting on the laurels, Instead, it takes the signature Hovvdy spirit and tackles it with a new outlook.
Listen to ‘Forever’ below.
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