Hovvdy Announce Big World, a More Direct Follow-Up to Their 2024 Double Album

Hovvdy are moving fast from one phase into the next. After the Austin-born duo landed a real breakthrough with their sprawling self-titled double album, one of our favorites of 2024, Charlie Martin and Will Taylor have now announced Big World, an album that sounds built with a different kind of pressure in mind. Since that record, they’ve also teamed up with runo plum, while Martin contributed to Teethe’s well-regarded Magic Of The Sale. Both players are based in Nashville now, and both are just beginning side careers writing for other artists. That kind of work seems to have fed into where Hovvdy are headed next.

Big World was recorded in Nashville and Asheville with longtime collaborator Ben Littlejohn producing. The pair changed up their process this time, arriving with fully demoed instrumentals but leaving the lyrics unwritten until they were in the room, hoping that last-minute pressure would pull something different out of the songs. In a press release, Martin called the last album “such a generous offering” and said the new one was intended to be “more concise and to the point,” while still giving fans “a shorter but more exciting ride.”

That shift comes into focus right away on lead single “Try Try Try,” which moves with a taut, power-pop pulse even as the vocals drift into something blurrier and more elastic, shaped by drawl and effects. The Michael Rees-directed video keeps things simple and communal: Hovvdy and friends tearing through the song in a basement. It fits the mood well enough. The band has also lined up a heavy run of tour dates, including shows opening for Wilco and Bleachers.

Below, check out the “Try Try Try” video, the Big World tracklist, and Hovvdy’s live schedule.

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