News High Highs

“Try to look the other way - no-one will stop you” is the sweet opening line to High Highs’ ‘Ivy’; a song so frail and easy on the ear that at one point you’re convinced it’s all some kind of audible facade that’s just on the brink of falling apart any second now. The truth is, even for a track as delicate as this, it’s impossible to turn a blind eye.

“It’s funny how it sounds so quiet and intimate in the recording but when we play it live the bass can make the room shake,” the band tells DIY. Self-described as the audible equivalent of “lounging in a luxurious bath,” the Brooklyn group make simple music that’s both easy to engage in whilst at the same time, appealing to those who might be hard to please. The fact that they’re signed to a label that hosts more off-kilter acts such as Supreme Cuts and Idiot Glee (Small Plates Records - run by the people behind royal-status blogs yvynyl and I Guess I’m Floating), just goes to highlight their crossover appeal.

The band cite a crowded, intimate show at The Knitting Factory venue in their home city, as the moment when they began to realise their potential: “The air was pretty heavy and you could hear a pin drop…” For every show they play, you’d prefer to have complete silence with a sparse, friendly crowd by your side, but these guys are destined for bigger things, bigger venues. Let’s just hope they continue to play to obliging audiences, willing to appreciate the silence and respect preferred for hearing music as delectable and sweet as this.