_Why Can’t We Just Pretend?_ Is the title of Marian Hill’s upcoming album, but the duo is doing anything but pretending. Vocalist Samantha Gongol and producer Jeremy Lloyd of Marian Hill are unflinchingly authentic and don’t take themselves too seriously; listening to their music feels just like being hyped up by your best friend whose every word you believe wholeheartedly. _Why Can’t We Just Pretend?_ is the same classic Marian Hill sound we fell in love with when their first song “Whisky” blew up in 2013, but with more maturity, emotional honesty, and existentialism than their previous work. After having an excess amount of time to write music during the pandemic, Lloyd says the songs that made the new album are truly the “best of the best,” of almost three years of songwriting. He recalls that the past two years have given him a “new appreciation for what music can give me and what a sustaining life force it is”. _Flaunt_ spent a gorgeous, sunny afternoon in Central Park with Marian Hill and found out firsthand what makes them so special.
It was one of those couldn't-be-more-perfect days in the city; it was sunny but not overwhelmingly so, there was a light breeze, and everyone that was out and about seemed to be in a great mood. We told the duo to wear what made them feel comfortable and confident, and Gongol showed up wearing her grandmother’s gorgeous vintage white dress with fringe that swayed delightfully as she walked. As we walked to our shooting location, while crunching pieces of bark under our feet, Lloyd told me a story of how, at the beginning of their career, they spontaneously ended up headlining a sold out show at Baby’s All Right in Brooklyn. They were slated to open for Glass Animal’s first headline show in New York, and when Glass Animals couldn’t go on at the last minute, Marian Hill, with little performance experience at the time and no one in the audience knowing who they were, took their place. They’ve certainly come a long way since. They capture the uniqueness and empowering character of their music on stage. The duo is currently on a sold-out US tour, and they told us that they will “probably cry” hearing their fans sing their music back to them for the first time in a very long time.
Prior to that Baby’s All Right show, Marian Hill stumbled into their signature sound; hip-hop inspired, jazzy beats with seductive vocals, by doing what they do best—being themselves. When Gongol had just graduated college and Lloyd was in his senior year, the pair caught up in their Pennsylvania hometown to talk about music. Lloyd played Gongol a beat he described simply as “cool,” and Sam just started singing over it in the way that felt most natural to her. In that moment, they both knew they had made something special, and that was how their first single, “Whisky”, was born. “Whisky” then became the blueprint for the rest of the music they would release. Both of them had found a way to make exactly the type of music they wanted to make, and it was a perfect recipe—boasting an unmatched authenticity.
Now, let’s make a note on their duality—While Lloyd says hip-hop is the first genre that really felt like his own, Sam is inspired by classic female vocalists like Ella Fitzgerald, Nora Jones, Lauryn Hill, and Amy Winehouse. This is apparent in their songs; Jeremy’s production lends itself well to hip-hop features, just like Yung Baby Tate’s verse in their recent single, “oOo that’s my type”. Gongol’s classic-sounding vocals also give their music a timeless and almost vintage quality. The result is totally fresh, addicting, and like nothing we’ve heard before.
As Marian Hill was releasing their sophomore album _ACT ONE_, I was a sophomore in high school and at a critical point in my musical discovery journey. Filling my Spotify playlists with artists like Marian Hill, Banks, Broods, Troye Sivan, London Grammar, and Lorde made me feel like I had found the music that resonated with me on a deeper level that I couldn’t quite put into words. The darker themes, strong female vocals, and creative production spoke straight to my melodramatic teenage brain and will forever be one of my favorite personal music-listening eras. Pop music had always been my one true love, and these artists were pushing the boundaries of what it meant to make music that fit in the genre, but was genre-less at the very same time. When I asked Gongol and Lloyd what they thought the future of pop music was, Lloyd laughed and responded, “If I knew we were going to talk about where pop music was headed I would have written a whole thesis”. I definitely would have loved to read that entire thesis. He went on to say, “Everyone is taking two or three genres and making their own thing”. Gongol said she thinks anything can be pop music, and that there are no rules anymore. They both agreed that funny music is also currently having a moment, and that they are especially proud of rhyming “laundry” with “lingerie” in their recent single, _omg_.
_Why Can’t We Just Pretend?_ Is essentially about music being that perfect escape, a theme that every music fan can relate to, and even more so in the past year. Their most recent single “it never ends” is about wondering why the best moments in life can’t just last forever. “We’re still here, If you liked us before you’ll love it,” said Lloyd. “If you’re new we’ve added a lot of maturity and depth, and it’s a really powerful project. I hope we’re on everyone’s radar again.”
Photographed by [Devin Kasparian](https://www.instagram.com/devinkasparian/?hl=en)
Written by [Cameron Coughlin](https://www.instagram.com/camcog_/?hl=en)
