Hovvdy Keep Trying — and on “Try Try Try,” It Pays Off

After their 2024 self-titled double album earned them a Best New Album from Pitchfork and established Will Taylor and Charlie Martin as two of the most emotionally generous songwriters working, Hovvdy did something counterintuitive for Big World: they pulled back. The new album — their sixth, due August 14 on Arts & Crafts — is deliberately concise, more immediate, and emotionally enigmatic where its predecessor was nakedly personal. “The last record felt like such a generous offering,” says Martin. “With this one, we wanted to give the fans something that feels like a shorter but more exciting ride.”

“Try Try Try” is the propulsive lead single and a good preview of where the band has landed. Produced by longtime collaborator Ben Littlejohn, Big World was recorded across a handful of sessions in Nashville and Asheville in fall 2025, with Taylor and Martin arriving with only instrumentals rather than fully drafted demos — writing and responding to the songs in real time. The result is something more sonically immediate, but where the emotional meaning stays slightly out of reach, each song holding up a mirror without quite revealing what it sees.

This summer Hovvdy will open for Bleachers and Wilco before heading out on their own fall North American headline run. Pre-order the album below.

Pre-order Big World ↗

1“Life So Wide”

2“Way Down”

3“JJ”

4“What I Had”

5“Blast”

6“Starry”

7“Try Try Try”

8“Junk”

9“You Will Go Far”

10“Give It Away”

11“Untitled”

12“Wannabe (Radio Queen)”