In their latest single, "Emily," Hyde Away strips love down to its rawest bones and presents it in all its aching glory, the type of emotional gut-punch that somehow has you tapping your foot while mending the pieces of your heart. This is a song that tells a story and confesses it. "Emily" exudes an effortlessly cool indie rock vibe, marked by crackling guitars and smooth grooves. But don't be fooled by the chilly instrumentation beneath the smooth surface, for a profoundly personal heartache lies unadorned and relatable. The song is about a narrator who can't help but be smitten by "Emily," though she appears to be more interested in his friends than in him.
It's a love triangle nobody wants to be in, but which everyone has, in some form or another, been forced to play. Hyde Away prides itself on honesty. The vocals observe. It's that small kind of heartbreak that stays in the background long after the track ends, the one that feels like an old journal entry or a love letter you never sent that you'd long forgotten about. What truly lifts "Emily" is how the band manages to offset emotional vulnerability with an enjoyable experience. It's the type of song you randomly catch yourself humming until you realize what it's about and then feel a little pang in your chest.
In a musical world of glorious proclamations and overproduced emotion, Hyde Away presents a gentle truth. "Emily" is a moment, an impression, a missed opportunity, it becomes universal. This is the walk home alone after the party. It's feeling someone look right through you and pretending it doesn't hurt. And Hyde Away manages to portray all of that in disarmingly clear terms. "Emily" proves that sometimes the quietest songs can be the loudest. Hyde Away could be heartbroken, but they've made that pain into something beautiful.