Hey Violet
Los Angeles, CA
Pop Punk/Pop Rock
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About the Artist
In the opening seconds of Hey Violet's "Brand New Moves" video, frontwoman Rena Lovelis sings along to a warped beat, framed in a cartoon TV set and looking like a new-wave pop star from another era. Over the next three-and-a-half minutes, the stop-motion video explodes into a collage of glitter, lightning bolts, lipstick-smeared mirrors, and spinning disco balls—all of which serves as the perfect backdrop to Hey Violet's dancey but deeply emotional twist on synth-powered alt-pop.With Rena on lead vocals, her sister Nia on drums, Miranda Miller on vocals and keys, Casey Moreta on lead guitar and Iain Shipp on bass, Hey Violet's sophomore EP Brand New Moves (out on Caroline) marks an evolution from the guitar-fueled alt-rock the band first unleashed in their early teens. While the L.A.-bred outfit channels more raw energy than ever, Brand New Moves reveals that delving into electronic music has hugely expanded their sonic possibilities. "When we started playing around with synth, we realized there's so much you can do and so many new sounds you can create," says Rena. "It changed something chemically in our brains and let us move into this new direction that feels really good to us."The follow-up to their well-received 2015 debut EP I Can Feel It, Brand New Moves finds Hey Violet collaborating with producer/songwriter Julian Bunetta to dream up a groove-driven sound built from bright melody and fat beats. The band recorded in Bunetta's home studio in Malibu, often working into the wee hours of the night to shape the EP's introspective yet irreverent mood. "A lot of the demos and some of the final versions of the songs were recorded on a hand-held microphone—just me in a room, singing my heart out," notes Rena.Throughout Brand New Moves, Hey Violet let that heart shine through songs that...