The indie pop band Pale Blue Eyes have seen their star rise astronomically over the past year – rightly so – and Hang Out, the new single from their upcoming second album (September, folks) called ‘This House’ is yet again proof that they are on the right track. Hang Out – the second share from album This House – is due for release on 1st September 2023 on Full Time Hobby.
Hang Out aims to capture the simplistic wonder of being amongst friends. It’s about “the importance of attempting to just switch off and enjoy simple moments – the sun on your face, hanging out with friends in the pub or in a field”, say the band. “In the good times and the bad there’s always the simple pleasure of just hanging out with mates.”
The track comes with an accompanying lyric video created by long-term band collaborator Dylan Friese-Green.
There’s a smoky, swirly, psychedelic quality to the opening bars as if the band members are searching back through their minds, invoking a sense of wistfulness as they conjure up pleasurable memories. The message conveyed is one of positivity and joy: adversity may have reared its head but its those sweet times with good friends who nourish the soul that are being celebrated here.
This House is titled after the building on the front cover – the rural Devon home where singer/guitarist Matt Broad grew up and where the band had built a well-equipped DIY recording studio. As the album was being finished, Matt’s mother died, following a heart-breaking degenerative illness. Fellow band members Matt and Lucy had been living at the house, helping to look after his mum.
“When Mum died, five years after Dad, there was this charge hanging in the air, connecting each person in the room,” says Matt. “Time stopped. I felt like I momentarily entered an alternative dimension between life and death. Days and weeks later I’d see my family in every corner of the house – all the reminders, ghosts and memories. Then, gradually, it felt like time for a new start, moving on from the house and my amazing parents.”
