Performing as Hovvdy, the duo of Will Taylor and Charlie Martin have spent the last decade-plus delivering one melodic, emotionally impactful album after another. With a new record incoming, they announced plans for a fall tour that will bring them to Milwaukee’s Vivarium on Nov. 13.
The last time we heard from the Austin-based pair was 2024’s self-titled Hovvdy, one of the best albums of that year. With 19 tracks to play with, Taylor and Martin demonstrated what makes the band so reliably excellent while sneaking in just enough experimentation to show they’re still pushing themselves to try new things.
Ian Cohen put it nicely in his Pitchfork review of the album, saying that “Martin and Taylor don’t think in opuses, in grand gestures and proclamations, in magic or illusion. Hovvdy simply slows down time just long enough to capture the beauty in the moments that always threaten to float away if they’re not captured immediately and cherished.”
The lead single from upcoming album Big World indicates their standards haven’t slipped. “Try Try Try” is a bouncy entry to Hovvdy’s music catalog that borders on dance-able, ably priming the pump for the full record’s drop Aug. 14.
With a few months to go before that arrival, you can fill some time by getting tickets to Hovvdy’s Nov. 13 show at the Vivarium when they go on sale this Friday, May 15, online via AXS and at the Pabst/Riverside box offices.
Artist bio
Hovvdy’s Will Taylor and Charlie Martin have occupied a distinct corner of the modern-day indie landscape for more than a decade. Having evolved from their understated slowcore beginnings in Austin, Texas, they’re now seasoned veterans of the scene.
Across their first five studio albums, the duo established their trademark sound of twangy indie rock, 2000s-inspired pop-country, and emotional acoustic ballads with strong pop sensibilities. Their last two records saw them processing life’s most intense emotions more openly than ever before, from declarations of love in its many forms on 2021’s True Love to grappling with loss and personal change on 2024’s self-titled album.
The songs on their upcoming album, Big World, have them trading in overt emotional directness for subject matter that leans enigmatic, contemplating their place in the world through a mosaic of songs that sees the band at their most secure and self-aware.
