On their latest release, "HELLO/GOODBYE," Denver's HOWRU? distills the ephemeral highs and emotional whiplash of a brief connection into a punchy, alt-rock gem. Timed to the second with emotional heft and grunge, this song encapsulates the strange paradox of something significant and fleeting.
The tone is set early in the opening track, "HELLO/GOODBYE," an instrument-heavy affair emphasized by a raw vocal performance. It's both catchy without trying too hard and cathartic without feeling overly self-indulgent, a perfect tightrope that alternative rock exists to walk. The song comes from introspection, constructed on the bones of a relationship that shone brightly and disappeared too early. The title encapsulates the heartbreak and headspin of that emotional contradiction, the happiness of being together laid over the sorrow of leaving.
HOWRU? was born out of the mechanical imagination of Tanner Vaughn Stephen. There's something you can perceive from these roots, and you can feel it in their cramped production and finely tuned arrangement of songs. The riffs are urgent, the drums are propulsive, and, lurking beneath all the glowering guitars and angsty fire, is a discreet undercurrent of openness, an emo rock hallmark. Rather than wallowing in misery, they're finding a forward-looking spin on a traditionally very dark genre. There can be clarity and growth even in endings.
It's clear that HOWRU? is reanimating the past with new energy and alt-pop accessibility, a gut punch for newbies and diehards of the genre. "HELLO/GOODBYE" just relays an experience many of us have been through and infuses it with honesty, grit, and just enough melody that, despite its own goodbyes, it sticks around long after it's gone. Whether you're screaming these words in your car or just letting the chorus convey your state of mind at the moment, this is a track that knows how quickly things turn and how music can help make sense of them. HOWRU? maybe posing the question, but with "HELLO/GOODBYE," they're offering an answer worth sticking around for.
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