Album Review: Hovvdy - 'Big World'
There’s an alternate timeline out there somewhere; and in it, the Austin duo of Charlie Martin and Will Taylor follow up a sprawling, self-titled double album with an instrumental record. We almost got that in this timeline. For some bands, it’s music first, and for some it’s lyrics, stories, outlines first. The pair hit the studio for a quick response to that sprawling, self-titled double album late last year - in contrast to its predecessor, a lyrically rich record that took some big swings, they laid down the music first.
Now, you may be assuming at this point that the lyrics on Big World were treated merely as an afterthought, but Martin opted for a stream-of-consciousness, associative writing style this time around, and the album picks up this liberated spirit and runs with it. On the go since 2014, Hovvdy’s initial offerings were rooted more in slowcore and bedroom pop, intimate and hyper-detailed, contributing to Double Double Whammy’s impressive late-2010s hit rate with three albums in four years. ‘Quality over quantity’ may be the norm, but the duo found a way to make both work early in their career - six albums in a decade isn’t for everyone.
Scaling things back after Hovvdy allows their latest offering to sit in context as a markedly different record, even if songs like ‘Give It Away’ and ‘Blast’ don’t stray too far outside the band’s usual wheelhouse, instead refining their approach further across 12 songs. Big World is happy to mostly remain in mid-tempo mode, notable exceptions being ‘Try Try Try’ and closing track ‘Wannabe (Radio Queen)’, which delivers the sort of payoff it feels like they’ve been building towards for the entire record, powerful enough that it justifies coming along for the ride on its own.
That kind of hyper-detailed writing Martin has become known for mutates on Big World into vignettes that thrive on connections and wordplay, even when reminding the listener to practice self-love, or left with ‘hundreds of questions’ while pondering past versions of himself while rummaging around a toolshed on ‘Junk’. The primary focus being on acoustic guitar means that these songs are lit up by additional instrumental colour; the warbling electric solo on ‘Way Down’, the added layer of synths on early album highlight ‘JJ’—subtle choices that have a big impact, similar to how their early work changed on a dime with the aid of a bruising lyric or atmospheric chord change.
The bigger picture of the record only begins to present itself after multiple listens: a lyric sticks with you, a breezy melody takes up residence in your head. It’s a more subtle and subdued listen than long-time fans may be used to, but in keeping things short and sweet with a limited sonic palette, the project caps off its first decade or so of existence in a low-key manner which is nonetheless compelling. If you haven’t said ‘howdy’ to Hovvdy before, you couldn’t pick a better time to tap in: warm, welcoming and deeply affecting in its best moments, Big World is full of laser-focused songwriting and irresistible charm.
Words by Gareth O'Malley
