NN Song of the Week: “The Hard Way” by Eighty Ninety
Eighty Ninety — the indie-pop project of brothers Abner (vocals, production) and Harper (guitar, production) — are back with their new single, “The Hard Way,” out now on all streaming platforms. Following recent singles “Face Like A Sunset,” “Stay Alive,” and “2 Carat,” “The Hard Way”, which has been designated our NN Song of the Week, offers another glimpse of what fans can expect from Eighty Ninety’s debut album. The album is slated for release later this year.
Overflowing with raw emotion, "The Hard Way" is a contemplative, cathartic love song. The track opens with wistful piano chords and Abner’s tender vocals. As it goes on, the song gathers momentum with additional synths, percussion, and guitar. "With the production we tried to evoke the sense of the relationship being increasingly tested by life, increasing the instrumentation with every chorus, almost like we are trying to break the song," the duo explain. "But it holds — and by the end we're hoping the swelling percussion and harmonies feel uplifting; there's beauty in hope."
Elaborating on the lyrical inspiration, they continue: "'The Hard Way' is about choosing to love someone no matter how much life intervenes. It’s about being brave enough to make the choice to completely commit to a person, no matter the risk. It's about looking directly at all your fears about how things could go wrong and knowing that even if they all come to pass, it's still worth it."
Eighty Ninety is the project of Brooklyn-based brothers Abner (vocals, production) and Harper (guitar, production) James. They fuse intimate storytelling, sticky melodies, and minimalist pop productions built on acoustic instruments and electronic sounds in a style they call “808s and telecasters” — a shorthand for both their music and their anything-goes mentality in the studio. To date, they've racked up over 33 million streams and have received glowing reviews from tastemakers like Billboard, Alternative Press and Ones To Watch.
The duo recently released a project titled ‘Bowery Beach Road,’ a collection of past singles & previously unreleased demos. The project commemorated Eighty Ninety's “first era” of music, as they head towards the release of their debut album later this year.