What do we get when soulful pop vocalist River Hooks has a meeting of musical minds with members of the electronic Brazilian Gentleman? Well, bond over music and film and form a group that envisions a time when sensitivity and heartbreak were the focal points of pop music, juxtaposing it with energy and upbeat deliveries.
Taking the name Dear Hughes, the three-piece of vocalist/guitarist River Hooks, vocals/keyboardist Christian Alexander, and producer/keyboardist Merc Yes, take their name, by referencing 80s & 90s filmmaker John Hughes. The band brandishes the same level of playful sensitivity of his films and culls the same from the music found surrounding his work.
Dear Hughes shares its first single “Diamond Heart” off the forthcoming EP of the same name, which directly references 80s electronic pop music & culture, all the while avoiding nostalgia and remaining with feet firmly planted in the present. The song is full of hooks and synth washes that direct listeners to the dance floor allowing all to move with sheer abandon. Along with the single, Dear Hughes debuts its new video for the song which captures the band’s Tops Of The Pops-like inspired performance.
“We’re basically a love letter to John Hughes,” says Hooks as Alexander added “and all of the sweet melodrama that goes along with his movies.” The song feels like part club banger, part heartbreak song, wrapped up in glossy innocent optimism. “It’s okay to cry on the dance floor sometimes” adds Merc.
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