Hungry HAERTS, interview

by Josh Edgar

HAERTS is a band without a country. And while the synth-pop quintet have staged themselves in Brooklyn for the nine months they’ve been playing together, they grew up all around the globe — two of them in Munich, one in England, the others in opposite corners of the US. In fact, after the band’s performance at Toronto’s Opera House on September 15 (their third set at the Opera House since May), the band told me they’d performed there more than any other venue, including venues in their home city.

Knowing this, it might be easier to imagine why the band’s first single was called “Wings.” This lofty, infectious pop song — think Kate Bush covering Stevie Nicks for a David Lynch movie — appeared on the blog circuit last October and quickly became one of the most talked about debut tracks in recent memory. The song continued to build steam into the new year, appearing on the most influential taste-making blogs (Gorilla vs. Bear called it one of the most unstoppable pop songs of the year) and climbing the ranks on trend-tracking sites like Hype Machine. And while the band realizes they owe a large part of their early success to being on the right blog at the right time, they also acknowledge the limitations of the blogosphere.

“You have to be careful, there are so many songs that people would call ‘the next great song,’” says singer Nini Fabi. “For us the more important thing is for us to justify someone calling our song a great song. We wanted to have other material that can follow it.”

After a handful of American dates, including spots at SXSW and live radio appearances, HAERTS got the break they’d been working for: a North American tour with Shout Out Louds. Not only did the tour grant them exposure to audiences across the continent, but opening for a band they admired gave them a boost in confidence and momentum.

“That was really our first tour. The singer came into our green room before the first show and he was like ‘It’s really great to have you here with us, we really love your music, we’re looking forward to the tour,’” says keyboardist Ben Gebert.  “It was amazing. They probably knew exactly how we were feeling.”

“I would love to see what we looked like on that first day. We were like little puppies,” says bassist Derek McWilliams.

Since then, HAERTS have been working overtime promoting their EP Hemiplegia (out September 17 on Columbia Records), touring with Australia’s Atlas Genius this past June, and currently supporting Washed Out on tour until the end of September. And while we’ll likely have to wait until 2014 for a debut LP from the band, the EP is the next best thing.

“[Hemiplegia] is all songs you’re going to hear on the album next year. It’s really important for us because we’ve been touring for a year and all we have out is singles. It’s a really great feeling to be putting out more,” says Fabi.

When the tour wraps up at the end of the month, HAERTS are home for a well deserved rest, but if the band’s new EP and forthcoming debut record carry on the ecstatic reception established by their early singles and live shows, they’re going to be a band you’ll want to keep an eye on in 2014.