There is a stillness that grows inside of us. Like peaty moss on a creek bank, slowly but surely encroaching on the dewey frenzy of youth, the stillness that comes with age may often be mistaken for wisdom, or callousness. Stillness is a reckoning with time– a relinquishing of control. Hovvdy, Austin-born indie-rock duo and your favorite artist’s favorite artist, has always been known for their prenatural sonic ability to invoke that stillness with textured, brooding melodies and rich instrumentals. The duo’s fifth album, a 19-track double-feature released today under Toronto’s Arts and Crafts label, demonstrates a remarkable mastery of invocation: Charlie Martin and Will Taylor, well into their careers and domestic lives, may have relinquished their control over time, with all of it’s gnarled tragedies and joys, but they certainly create art about that relinquishment with a still, sure hand.

Recorded in various locations across the United States, Hovvdy is stamped by sounds of the world in which Martin and Taylor inhabit– “Portrait”’s iPhone and field recordings; Charlie’s mother’s upright piano; a car alarm in “Angel. ” After dominating the Austin indie scene in the late 2010’s, the pair now work from separate Midwestern enclaves, Martin in St. Louis and Taylor in Nashville. The album was synthesized in segments, when the two– along with coproducers Andrew Sarlo (Bon Iver, Big Thief), and Bennett Littlejohn (bassist, multi-instrumentalist)-- were all physically together. A week in a log cabin in North Carolina. Ten days in a family home in Texas. A week in Los Angeles. It was important to Hovvdy that, when they were together, time was not of the essence. As such, Hovvdy (the album) is imbued with a sense of tickling warmth, a sort of gentle invitation into the space built so carefully by Hovvdy the band. Welcome in, it beckons, here is our home, stay as long as you like.

When I speak with Charlie Martin and Will Taylor ahead of their forthcoming European headline, they’re in their respective homes in St. Louis and Nashville. I see the silhouette of Taylor’s small daughter bobbing in and out of the kitchen window behind Taylor’s head as he speaks. The two ponder each question carefully before answering. They don’t interrupt each other, or mince words, despite the occasional zoom lag. We speak about the way place affects their sense of time; the discrepancies between fatherhood and music; and how to play the game of the music industry. Hint: It’s all about control, and the relinquishment of it.

‍There is always a specific emotional affect attached to a place, especially a place that births creative projects. Can you talk about how Hovvdy came together, and how each region shaped your sound?

Will Taylor: Reckoning with what exactly makes our music sound a certain way, or sound like it's from Texas, or it's from, you know, a green space or whatever– it is hard to put my finger on exactly, but I think all the spaces that we feel most comfortable are the spaces that we work best in. There's often more space out [in the middle of America], and there's just more freedom and less pressure, less money on the clock  type feeling when you kind of just find an Airbnb with, with, with friends. I think a lot of people are starting to figure that out.  I see it being more common to recording. I think it works really well for us.

From the beginning of our band,, we've had space to record in our homes and, you know, to travel all over Texas and to different places. I feel like that's always informed our music. We just kind of wanted to keep that energy going while tackling some new territory for our band. 

How long were you in each session?

‍Charlie Martin: We were in North Carolina for like a week, and then Texas for 10 days. Then we went to LA to finish it up and that was about a week or so. It was definitely the longest we’ve ever recorded. I feel like with True Love, we did that one in just two less-than-a week-long sessions and, and then did a lot of remote work as well.  Whereas with this one, we really kind of immersed ourselves in the process and in the collaboration of like all being together and, you know, eating three meals a day together.

Will: Now kind of looking back on it,, it is impressive  to me in some ways that we were able to  get the amount of songs down that we did in that short amount of time. I think we ended up working a lot faster than we would if we're not in the same place. Being all together in one place, you're not really stepping out of the mental space of  the album. Whereas when we're all separate, it's like everybody kind of has their own lives, you know? 

Speaking of time– it seems to be a motif across this album. How did you think about time when you were making the record?

Will: Time does slow down a little when we're all together, just because of our lives are on pause in a way. We get to kind of engage with each other and the music wholeheartedly.

Time kind of changes as you get older and, and as you experience more and like, as time becomes more valuable and you have more clarity on how precious time really is. I think that was a strong theme for this record– just like thinking about family, thinking about, you know,  there's a lot of songs about a death in Charlie's family; and in that way, it's like we all need more time, you know, like time runs out and it's painful.

There's kind of being in the moment and like being overwhelmed and being very cognizant that you need to be in the moment that you're in. And so, in the small picture, time just adjusts a little bit when we’re together, but big picture, I feel like our band now has a bit more clarity about all those big questions, like where do you put your time and like how much time is enough and blah, blah, blah. So, 

On “Every Exchange,” there's a lyric where you say “I got a long way to go running towards how I used to know myself” it seems like there's some reckoning with bringing a child into the world and how it throws everything that you thought you knew about yourself into this murky light. Are there parallels between being a musician and bringing creative projects into the world and having a child, in terms of your understanding of yourself?

Will: I mean,  it's interesting, like you have a lot of control over music and you have very little control over what your kid will become or like what a child can  grow to love, or like who they become is, is, you know,  it's a toss up.

And so in some ways there are similarities. I think, I think more so, they challenge you to examine your life… when you, when you grow a family–even just being married and taking care of your loved ones– I think it brings perspective and understanding.

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‍What did you learn about yourselves–about each other–in the making of this album? 

Charlie:  In the initial conversations around the record, when we were talking to Sarlo and Ben,  I remember Sarlo was like: I don't think we should  set out on this without a like, very kind of distinct and like new and inspired approach. And so there was, more than ever before, an emphasis on relinquishing control and being vulnerable and collaborative as possible.

And I tend to be a lot more structured and, like, Virgo, like: here's the plan let's, let's execute.  With this record, like Sarlo and Ben,  the four of us all being together and made it easy for  us to kind of push and pull on each other's strengths and weaknesses. I think just having worked together for so long over the years, you become more self aware, you know, what works, what doesn't work. 

I know you're going on tour in the UK coming up soon. How do you kind of plan on taking that sort of atmosphere baked into the production of the album and outputting it to a specific audience? Is there a discrepancy there?

Charlie: I mean, it's something we talk about a lot. I think in some ways you have to compromise and just say: the record, the record is going to be the record and the live is going to be its own thing. Um, but it's been fun. The way that we've, the only way that we've actually performed these new songs is a lot of acoustic, like just me and Will,  and it's been fun to sort of like, you know, present the record in that way– Just stripped down to its basic elements. Me and Will both try to not bring any song  to the table that doesn't, that can't stand alone, just like with acoustic guitar. 

When was the first time you fell in love with the crowd? 

Charlie: Pretty much any crowd that  Is like singing along and engaged. We've done a handful of support tours where no one in the crowd  knows our music at all, or maybe there's like a small handful of people. So, you know, anytime that we have the opportunity to do a full headline tour and every show is to our crowd, it's honestly a dream come true.

Will: There was a show at the Lodge Room in Los Angeles a few years ago that was really special and a really rowdy show.  I think the crowds are always such a big part of the narrative, and a big part of the story and how it's all possible. And I think  if it just feels different depending on, you know, like how big you are or whatever, and like how big the room is.

We've been charmed by the acceptance of a crowd since, since the beginning. And I feel like that's,  you know, another reason  why a lot of musicians like to perform is because it's a way to connect. We've been very lucky to have an engaged crowd.

Ok, so what’s your dream scenario when this record is being received? What kind of people, what's the mood, what setting are they listening to this record? 

Charlie: There's honestly something for,  for every season on the record. We worked on it over a pretty expensive period of time.So I, I sort of associate different aspects of the record with different seasons, memories, a whole range of emotions. That's the  nature of a double album. Ideally, you really can stretch out.  

It's all about trying to reach as many people as we can, and win them over. And I think with this record, our hope is that it really does. It really does win people over. Obviously our fans, but,  but, hopefully just, it grows exponentially.

That’s an interesting way to think about music in general– do you think that from your inception, it's been about winning people over? It almost seems like you’re playing a little game. 

Will: That’s the assumption that we all operate under no matter what, whatever line of work you're in. If you're self employed and trying to make it work for yourself by making art or writing,, like at its core, you’re trying to reach as many people as possible to win them over to, to expand the, the family people of who like your [art]. There have been times where it’s really helpful to think of it that way.

It does kind of like ground you and it reminds you at the end of the day, This is a business. We hope we can grow. Sometimes it's really helpful to remove yourself from that and really worry about the music. There's like a time and place for both of those thoughts. And there's a time and place to like, ignore what anybody would think, look around you, and hope for the best.

What still scares you about making music? 

Will: Any time you're going to put out a record, you want it to be understood and to resonate with your fans the way you pictured it. But the truth is like, you have absolutely no control over, overthat. And once it's out, it's, it's not, it's not really yours anymore.

Charlie: Yeah, yeah, yeah. For me, like a scary element of making music is like  thinking and operating like three years ahead. We talked about time at the beginning of the interview,  but it's challenging for me to like,  you know, make a record and then three years later, it's all coming out. Two or three and a half years is just a lot of time.

Sometimes it winds me up a little bit. I feel like the scariest part of it all for me isn’t the music and more all the logistics. 

It is a business after all, I suppose.