You know what they say about April showers and May flowers. So we’ll skip the rhymes and get straight to the good stuff: “Raindrop” — the brand new track from Hot Flash Heat Wave — makes its premiere on i-D right here, right now.
Back in 2015, four high school friends (who bounced around different bands during their studies at UC Berkeley before uniting) self-released their debut album as Hot Flash Heat Wave. Neapolitan won praise for its scuzzy surf hooks, but fans should expect a little something different on the group’s forthcoming sophomore album, Soaked, due June 2 via OIM Records.
Produced by Jeff Saltzman (the man behind The Killers’s multi-platinum debut Hot Fuss) and mixed by Eric Broucek (who’s worked with The Drums and Classixx among countless others), Soaked douses a little dream pop on the band’s punched-up garage riffs. “Gold Years” — Soaked‘s recently released lead single — opens with a sweet psych groove, before moving into an almost doo-wop vocal.
“Raindrop” resurrects those evocative echoes (courtesy of the band’s three vocalists: Adam Abildgaard, Ted Davis, and Nathaniel Blüm), but pursues a more anthemic, Weezer-esque sound. Somehow, it simultaneously feels like feedback-twinged slack rock and a big, bold ball of sunshine.
“I wrote ‘Raindrop’ while I was at my dad’s house in Maui last year. It was right after I injured my shoulder and couldn’t do much of anything except play guitar,” explains Abildgaard, co-vocalist and guitarist. “I got kind of emo since I was unable to surf, then out of the blue, the song just came to me and I recorded it in a couple of hours.”
Abildgaard says writing “Raindrop” brightened his day “in a warm, fuzzy kind of way.” “I hope it can do the same for everyone who listens.” We do, too.
‘Soaked’ is due June 2 via OIM Records, and is available for pre-order now.
Credits
Text Emily Manning
Image courtesy of Ryan Molnar