“Whenever you do something really specific and personal you don’t know if people will be able to relate to it, so to see it resonate with people is so great,” says Charlie Martin of True Love, the latest LP from Texas indie pop duo Hovvdy. The album dropped last year, courtesy of Grand Jury, and according to Martin, he and musical partner Will Taylor consider it to be their most fully realized yet: “I feel like we dig pretty deep on that record. I feel like the songwriting was maybe a little more vivid and personal than our last record,” and the critics seem to agree. Of the album and title track, The FADER said, “With each Hovvdy release, Charlie Martin and Will Taylor inch a little closer to the sunshine. On ‘True Love,’ the first single off their new album of the same name, they’re fully there, all aglow and with open arms.”
While most artists used lockdown and lack of touring responsibilities as an excuse to take a little longer with their most recent records, Martin tells me that he and Taylor actually took the opposite approach: “Because of the restrictions – how frequently we could be together – we decided to make the record in two short trips to LA, and then we did a lot remotely.” Like Madi Diaz’s latest (History of a Feeling), True Love was co-produced by Andrew Sarlo (with whom they had recorded before), whose presence Martin tells me he and Taylor originally found to be a little daunting, but ultimately proved to be an invaluable resource: “He’s amazing. Me and Will were a little intimidated going in for the first session. He’s a really good vibe coach and really good at facilitating a really good and encouraging environment.” He also admits to being a huge fan of much of Sarlo’s catalogue, including the work he’s done with Big Thief (“His stuff with Big Thief is just so great, U.F.O.F. and Two Hands, are two of my favorite albums.”), Bon Iver (“I’m a massive Bon Iver fan.”), and DIJON (“That new DIJON record has been on repeat… The new record is kind of a masterpiece.”)
Hovvdy recently returned from a couple of dates in London and are currently preparing for a US tour, which begins next month and includes an April 25th stop at The Foundry: “We just got back from London. That was our first time to the UK or Europe as a band. We sold out two shows there and they were some of our first shows back, so we’re really excited for these upcoming dates.” Charlie also tells me that the tour will be the first to feature Hovvdy’s current live band: “We’ve got the four-piece band back together. Mark, on drums, just signed on, and then we’ve got Ben on bass. We just got done a bunch of dates as a trio, with me and Will trading off drums and guitars, so we’re excited to have this band.” And while he admits that touring is currently at the forefront of his mind, he also tells me fans can expect some new music in the relatively near future: “The overarching vision is to do this tour and build from that, in terms of touring and playing live… And then hunker down at the end of the year and make another record.”
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