Stuck On Repeat: Marcel by Her's
Her’s
Heartbreakingly, last week the world suffered the loss of Liverpool surf rock band, Her’s.
They were half-way through their North American tour, on their way to Santa Ana from their show in Phoenix, when they were tragically hit head-on by a pickup truck. Stephen Fitzpatrick, Audun Laading, and also their tour manager, Trevor Engelbrektson, were all gone way too soon. The driver of the truck also unfortunately passed away.
Marcel
Two summers ago, I was living in Italy - and while that string of words sounds really glamorous and beautiful, it was one of the hardest times in my life. When I moved into my apartment there I didn’t know a single soul, but weekends after class I would take the train to other parts of the country. While on that train, without WiFi, “Marcel” by Her’s was one of my few saved songs on Spotify. I listened to it over and over and over, tried to turn the volume up again and again but kept forgetting it was at full volume. “Marcel” was the song of my summer, not because it necessarily was the new pop hit that everyone was listening to, but because it hit me more deeply than any song had in a long while.
Her’s is a self-proclaimed “international supersonic spectral wave” kind of band, their music reminiscent of the Beach Boys and Tame Impala, combined with a little something special that just can’t be put into words. It still amazes me how a band from so far away could make music that sounds just like it came from my own small beach town. It sounds like having the window down while I’m driving home on PCH; it sounds like forks and plates clinking with small chatter as I walk down the pier; it sounds like seagulls trying to find their footing, and it sounds like salty air. Her’s helped me not miss home so much that their song itself became home to me.
Listen to their music if you haven’t already, and have your own connection with it — because that’s the kind of music they made, music that grips you and won’t let go.
The world is aching without them, but I’m glad we all at least get to still hear the beauty they created in the short time they were here.