by Dan Goldin (@post_trash_)
When we last heard from Graham Brouder he had picked up from Harrisonburg, VA and moved to Providence, RI, a new home from his then solo project, Flyying Colors. In the years since however, Brouder has returned to Virginia, this time situating in the fertile music community of Richmond, and the music that he previously wrote solo has turned into a new band, Hearts In Exile. With a self-titled album in the works, the band - Brouder (guitar/vocals), Ben Nelson (keys/vocals), Rob Daubenspeck (drums/vocals), and Landon Walker (bass) - introduce themselves over the jangly crawl of the record’s lead single, “Language Is The House,” a song that progresses from garage pop charm to a psychedelic meditative space within five minutes.
Originally written as a Flyying Colors song, the band reworked the track to put their own touches on it, paying tribute to “the opportunities of communication”. The song opens with weary synths and a spacey psych rock riff, drifting between focuses, ringing and clamoring with a gentle ease, like a kaleidoscope point at the passing clouds, turning is slow motion. The energy is driven with restraint, it feels subdued but jangly, until the song’s singular hook. From there, Hearts In Exile choose to slowly evaporate as the tempo fades and we’re left with a surrealist lullaby, peeled back to a bare minimum in a way that definitely feels like a tale in two halves.