Girls In Hawaii “From Here To There” Review

Gentle, dreamy pop-rock is something I don’t usually kick back and relax to. Belgium-based Girls From Hawaii are some such band, yet they aren’t a typical abstract, hazy band as the band is both part Belle and Sebastian and part rockers. I say this because when I first heard the band, the song was “Flavor.” I was completely blown away by the distortion that blurred the song, allowing it to bloom into what ultimately becomes an explosive track. I later found the band to follow a far calmer, laid back pace, which allowed it to sink in and make the power at certain points that much more visible.

When I was growing up, my mother left me with a thought that still settles in when listening to non-English speaking bands; I’d like to call it the ABBA effect. It always boggles my mind when a band can write songs that aren’t in their foreign language, yet, spill so beautifully from behind the speakers. This ranges from the utmost simple “I’m not worthy” pop song “Short Song for a Short Mind” to the delicate, abstract “Bees & Butterflies (Down).” When you have a band that can go from the soft, to the hard, and still manage to hit on early ’90s alt-rock, I think you’ve got yourself a winner, and Girls In Hawaii seem to deliver all of the above.