It Hugs Back – Slow Wave

Filed Under: Album/EP — By: Elke Nominikat

What I love most about Slow Wave, the new album by the British four piece It Hugs Back, is the chilled and overall highly laid-back vibe. Especially in songs like Somnolence or Anyway, Matthew Simms’ vocal and guitar style remind me of a few 90s favorites of mine. Listening to his voice, I have for example Huey Morgan’s (Fun Lovin’ Criminals) in my ear: smooth, with a lot of promise and slightly sexy.

And then there’s the sparse instrumentation on Slow Wave with lots of negative space. Every single note and sound seems to be precisely put. Bass lines come and go, guitar strings are getting plugged when needed, choirs in the distance, ambient sounds – everything in flow, no harsh interruptions, smooth…

Songs like Endless Drive or Still Here make sure though this is not always the case. There are a few up-tempo tracks with driving beat, which pull from a wide orchestra of possibilities. And all laid-backness is gone, yet the feeling that’s left is comparable with being recharged and kinda happy even.

Listen als to the pretty amazing Somnolence on It Hugs Back’s website: http://www.ithugsback.co.uk/