Hey, Jane! pivots to synth-driven indie by way of The Wallows, Dayglow, and Boy Pablo for this starry-eyed new single.
There’s a starry-eyed quality to Hey, Jane! no matter the vessel or genre. That exclamation mark (obtuse lexicophiles call it a “bang”) does ring true, after all. HJ, for all intents and purposes, is not the quiet one at the party, but neither is it the unruly clown. But with “Bright Blue Dress”—a celebration of new love in its painfully sugary infancy—we all know HJ relishes doing things with a bang.
Though not exactly cut from the same cloth as their previous single “370” (which was more guitar-oriented and jaunt-worthy), the more soulful and laidback “Bright Blue Dress” shares the same infectious “supercharged-ness” as said tune.
The gearshift towards The Wallows/Dayglow/Boy Pablo territory is tasteful and spot-on, and I’m happy to hear a subtle sliver of funk—because really, what’s a love song without some gooey stickiness?—shot in the arm of an already-able band (this time via its rhythm section).
“It’s definitely a break from [the] usual since it’s a piano-centered song and the most minimal […]. We can’t say it’s a new creative era for us because we definitely love making songs that are more upbeat and people can dance to,” the band says in a statement.
“Bright Blue Dress” is also a lyrical leap from their previous offering’s detached caprices, especially when singer Raphael Alava croons “You’ve got so much going on for you / I wonder if I could fit in.” From the get-go it doesn’t sound like something to write home about, but man, if doubt in the face of romance isn’t proof of our flawed humanity I don’t know what is.
Hey, Jane! is hard at work on their full-length debut, and with two singles in—early portents of their guitar-and-synth indie-pop ars poetica—this doubt-riddled uncle is for once holding his breath.