HEMBREE Announce Debut Album, Unveil Invigorating New Track ‘Culture’
By Shelby Reitman
Kansas City-based band HEMBREE returns with new single “Culture,” premiering exclusively on Billboard today (Jan. 24). It will appear on the group’s debut full-length album House On Fire, which is due on April 26.
With poignant lyrics and a melody that loops around in your head, “Culture” — which also draws on the boundary-pushing production of hip-hop, and blends it with classic beat-infused rock — is something uniquely HEMBREE.
“These days we put so much emphasis on things that lack actual significance,” guitarist/vocalist Isaac Flynn tells Billboard. “Everything is urgent and I wanted to try to capture this urgency in a song and question what we prioritize. It’s about taking the time to stop and reflect; to think for yourself and establish your own opinions.”
Flynn also explains how the track touches on “the lengths people go to” in order to achieve status and power. “There’s the realization that these qualities don’t actually equal happiness. Thus, ‘the king of the culture is never really free,'” he says.
After the end of a previous project, Flynn spent three years writing songs and sending his demos around Kansas City. He fell in love with songwriting, and partnered with producer Eric Hillman in Nashville to further cultivate what would become HEMBREE’s distinctive sound. Through his determinination, Flynn realized all his songs delt with indecision and uncertain identity.
Today, HEMBREE is comprised of Flynn on lead vocals and guitar, Garrett Childers on bass and backup vocals, Eric Davis on keys/synth, and brothers Alex and Austin Ward on guitar and drums.
Get a first listen of “Culture” below, and check out the track listing for the LP after the jump.
House On Fire Track List
1. I Don’t Know Why
2. Culture
3. Right Time
4. Skyline
5. Heart
6. Continents
7. Almost
8. Never See It
9. Symmetry Lines
10. House On Fire