HAERTS' fourth album, ‘Laguna Road,’ strips away the sheen of indie pop to present an intimate portrayal of family, location, and companionship – characterized by minimalism, vulnerability, and an emphasis on the ordinary.
Stream: ‘Laguna Road’ – HAERTS
Sometimes, there’s little need for a digital backdrop during a Zoom call. For Nini Fabi and Benny Gebert, the duo behind HAERTS, this is a regular, if unusual, occurrence. As they sit before a window showcasing their picturesque backyard in New York’s Hudson Valley, the couple warmly welcomes me to our Zoom discussion. Their window, framed by light, trees, and tranquility, reflects the essence of their fourth album, Laguna Road: peaceful, unfiltered, and grounded in reality.
With three albums behind them, appearances on global stages including Coachella, a 2013 "Song of the Summer" title from ELLE, and features on the soundtracks for Love, Simon and Carrie, HAERTS' indie pop sound has etched itself into the fabric of pop culture. Known for their upbeat and vibrant music, the duo is often associated with spirited synth-pop during their ten years together. However, Laguna Road signifies a shift from that exuberance, moving toward a sound that embraces rawness and vulnerability through minimalist instrumentation, as the pair navigates their experiences with partnership and family. Much like the serene view outside their window, Laguna Road serves as a landscape of their memories: authentic, revealing, and intensely personal.
Before the October 3 release of Laguna Road, the duo discussed with me the "in-between spaces of everyday family life" that influence the album's lyrics, their sonic evolution since 2013's Hemiplegia, the impact of parenthood and place on their recent writing processes, and how the experience of being parents has reshaped their musical values – even if it "doesn’t sound very rock and roll."
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:: stream/purchase Laguna Road here ::
:: connect with HAERTS here ::
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A CONVERSATION WITH HAERTS
Atwood Magazine: You mentioned that you wrote Laguna Road after taking a break from HAERTS to "focus on family and other aspects of life." How did you decide to take that break?
Nini Fabi: It wasn't a straightforward decision. It was influenced by having a child, COVID-19, and various other factors, which significantly affected many musicians. We didn't want to create unless we genuinely felt we had something meaningful to express. We were in a different mental space for quite some time, which is why this album feels so distinct from our earlier work.
You describe Laguna Road as HAERTS’ expression of raw and vulnerable emotion. To achieve this, you reduced the use of synths and concentrated on minimal instrumentation. How did you arrive at that choice?
Nini Fabi: We wanted the songs to stand on their own. We aimed for the album's rawness and emotions to come through – without anything hindering that. We allowed the songs to guide their own direction, which led to a more minimal production approach. Most of the album was recorded live with a band, unlike in the past when we would go in and add layers or fix things.
How did the recording experience for Laguna Road differ from your past recordings?
Nini Fabi: We typically record live and with live musicians, which we enjoy. However, each album is a new journey. Personally, I like experimenting and trying new methods in the studio. While we had previously recorded in studios, this time we decided to record at home, in our living environment. Contextually, this made sense since the songs were composed there. The vulnerability stemmed from the limited time we had due to our family commitments. Previously, we could isolate ourselves in a studio for weeks to capture multiple takes, but with Laguna Road, our routine involved putting our daughter to sleep before heading back to the studio for vocal takes. And sometimes, I was tired, so my voice would crack. But we accepted it—it was candid and reflective of the moment, and that’s what the song became. The writing process mirrored that approach.
How do you feel Laguna Road relates to HAERTS’ debut album, Hemiplegia (2013)? How do you think the earlier HAERTS would react to hearing Laguna Road today?
Benny Gebert: I think they would be quite fond of it!
Nini Fabi: I believe Laguna Road aligns more closely with the music we grew up with—artists like Neil Young and those classic records. While we experimented early on with HAERTS, I think the younger version of ourselves would appreciate this album. We met young, and by the time we formed HAERTS, we had been writing together for a decade. We had crafted albums before forming the band, showcasing a more acoustic, folky side—drawn from influences like Beth
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HAERTS' fourth album, 'Laguna Road,' strips away the sheen of indie pop to unveil an intimate depiction of family, location, and relationships – simplistic, exposed, and grounded in the mundane.