Texas Music News — August 15, 2026
Austin duo Hovvdy just released the most vivid, colorful album of their twelve-year career. Big World dropped Friday, marking the band’s sixth studio album. Charlie Martin and Will Taylor built their sound on hazy, tender melodies. Fans call it “pillowcore,” a term the Austin Chronicle coined years ago. It stuck, and now an entire tag of like-minded bands lives under that name on Bandcamp.
Martin and Taylor made this record after a pivotal move from Austin to Nashville. There, they leaned harder into pop songwriting, something they’d only dabbled in before. “It’s something we’ve been interested in for years,” Martin said. “But now it’s more of a focus alongside Hovvdy.” The new songs still carry that same aching, lived-in warmth. But they sound clearer now, like a photograph finally brought into focus.
Twelve Years of Getting Sadder, Softer, and Somehow Brighter
The album’s emotional center is a song called “Blast.” Charlie Martin sings about regret over a ringing acoustic arpeggio and a crunchy, nineties-style beat. “Touch down, small town,” he sings. “We could do better next time. We could do better every time.” That line captures the whole record: gentle, a little sad, and quietly hopeful.
Martin and Taylor built the album alongside longtime collaborator Bennett Littlejohn. He has shaped the duo’s sound since they left Austin’s DIY scene behind. The trio recorded twelve songs that swing from drum-machine pop to bare, acoustic slow-churns. After more than a decade together, Hovvdy still sounds like two friends figuring things out in real time.
Details at Paste Magazine.
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