INTERVIEW: the hues EMBRACE BEING 'HOMEBODIES' WITH NEW ALBUM

by Whitt Laxson

On a cloudy, Sunday afternoon in Nashville, a room full of people gathered to hear live music from singer-songwriter duo The Hues. "All the strings and horns that played on the album played live with us today," says one half of the band, Noah Bartfield. "Kind of a dream come true."

The intimate concert at Shelby Bottoms Park was an album release party for the group's new project, Homebodies. "It's us. We feel like we're homebodies," the band's other half, Josh Evington, explains. "The music is suited for that. Just chill. Maybe when you're hanging out at the house or (you're) in the car. Very relaxing." 

Noah and Josh are two passionate musicians with the same lifelong dream. "I don't know when our parents believed us," says Noah, a former New Yorker who started taking piano lessons at age five. Josh, from North Carolina, got his start singing in church. Eventually, the two would meet and sing together at Berklee College of Music in Boston.

"At Berklee, you're looking for friends like normal colleges, but you're also like, 'who do I connect with musically? Who could I have something with?'" Noah says of their early college days. "We clicked immediately."

Before they became bandmates, they were roommates and had failed attempts at other bands. While there’s not much of story behind their group's name, 2013 was the year they released their first song as The Hues. "We wrote a song called 'Long Lost Lover,' which was the first song we wrote together ever," says Noah. "And then we recorded that song right away."

They were living in LA. at the time and had their sights set on music placements in TV and film. "Long Lost Lover" was featured on the popular reality series Keeping Up with the Kardashians. It's a song Noah and Josh say people still gravitate towards today.

A couple years and a few EPs later, a door opened up in Nashville. "It was a good change," says Josh. "We could just write and create."

The group's first single in Nashville, "The Good Days Are Gone," references some of Josh and Noah's influences from the 60s and 70s. They say their music is reminiscent of that era with an orchestral feel added in. Their lyrics are inspired by childhood nostalgia, love and even Josh's religious background, all of which can be heard on their new album, Homebodies. 

"For homebodies, by homebodies," says Noah. It's a seven-track record that's been two years in the making. Homebodies features breakup songs like "Good Luck and God Speed" along with "Ashes and Dust." They call "Feel the Rush" the album's happy love song, while darker tracks include "Highway Hypnosis" and "Haunted House." The project ends with a new version of their previously recorded hit "Over the Moon."

"Everything was just very intentional from the start," Noah explains. "It's not country at all, but for whatever reason, it's how Nashville inspired us."

And just as their Nashville-inspired album is released, Josh and Noah's time in Music City is coming to an end. "I'm moving back to LA in a month," Josh reveals. "Hopefully, we'll back here a lot. With Noah still living here, we'll still play shows here. Keep writing."

As for what the future holds for The Hues, they say there's nothing else they'd rather do than music. "I think it's important to my sanity as a human on earth," says Josh.

"Finding your own voice and not listening to what is supposed to be done," Noah shares of the advice he'd give to other musicians. 

"Do your own thing, and if it catches on, it catches on," Josh adds. "People can tell if you're not being authentic. I think it's really important to do that."