Punchy debut album from Everyone Says Hi – ex-Kaiser Chiefs drummer/songwriter and a bunch of his famous(ish) mates.
Release Date: 31st January 2025
Label: Chrysalis Records
Formats: CD / Vinyl / Digital
BIRTH OF A SUPER(ISH)GROUP…
Named after a song on David Bowie’s 2002 Heathen album, Everyone Says Hi is the brainchild of ex-Kaiser Chiefs drummer and songwriter, Nick Hodgson. Nick is the band’s frontman and, for this outing, he’s eschewed his drumkit in favour of a vocalist/guitarist role With a lineup that features Pete Denton (The Kooks) on bass, Glenn Moule (Howling Bells) on drums and Ben Gordon (The Dead 60s) on keyboards, alongside Leeds-based guitar guru Tom Dawson, there’s ample justification for the band’s claim to be a Super(ish)group…
PLAN ‘B’
The Everyone Says Hi project actually started life as a plan for a Nick Hodgson solo album. That idea was waylaid as, first Ben, then Tom, Pete and Glenn moved in and, suddenly, Everyone Says Hi was born.
There’s been plenty of advance warning ahead of this debut album. Everyone Says Hi announced their birth back in Spring 2024, with the release of their debut single, Brain Freeze. Gigs in Brighton, London and Leeds followed and, in December 2024, a second single, Somebody Somewhere (now the opening track to this album) hit the airwaves. Everyone Says Hi is definitely up and running and the release of this debut album coincides with the band’s first UK tour (details available here.)
A SONGWRITER OF PEDIGREE
There’s a lot to enjoy amongst this collection of ten finely-honed songs. Whether your taste is for chiming guitars, smooth-as-velvet strings, gritty rock, love ballads or punchy, vibrant indie-pop, you’ll find plenty to satisfy your cravings. Nick Hodgson is a songwriter of pedigree; in the past, he’s written for the likes of Dua Lipa, You Me At Six, Duran Duran, George Ezra and Holly Humberstone and his versatility is given full exposure here. If pushed to suggest an overwhelming influence for this latest crop of his songs, John Lennon is the name that would come to mind.
ASTRAL EVENTS
Pete’s loping bass and Glenn’s crisp drumbeat set the scene for Somebody Somewhere. It’s the album’s sharp, vivid opening track and the slightly sarcastic edge to Nick’s vocal delivery is the perfect fit for lyrics like: “Somebody somewhere just read your message – and it made ‘em feel stupid, or ugly, or worthless…” Lucky Stars is a milder offering. A tasteful, poppy number that grows into something rather grand as Ben’s synths and the strings of guests Anna Goodall Hodgson, Simon Goodall, Clare Renwick and David Goodall take centre-stage. The song’s lyrics are interesting, too. Nick compares sightings of astral events like shooting stars and a harvest moon to items of a more mundane nature: the landing lights of an aircraft and an illuminated hotel sign.
SINCERE TONES
Speaking of current single, Only One, Nick said: “This was the first song that came out of me for the album. Whenever I’ve written albums, they start with one song. When it happens, I know that, whether I like it or not, an album is happening. Only One is another love song, essentially, but when I write a love song, they’re not very romantic but more matter of fact. In this case, I’m saying, I love it when you phone me up in the middle of the night. Something that’s pretty inconvenient but, because it’s a special person, you love it.”
A WELL-CHOSEN SINGLE
It’s a well-chosen single, a nice, pacey, song. One in which Nick manages to shed the naturally cynical edge to his voice. He actually sounds quite sincere as he sings “You know I love it when you call me baby…” and Ben’s piano licks give the song a special sparkle.
Brain Freeze, the single that launched the Everyone Says Hi adventure all those months ago is a slice of highly polished pop,. One embellished with a few gritty guitar passages from Tom and Pete. Nick’s vocals have a dreamlike feel, whilst the band – in marked contrast – are going flat-out. At the opposite end of the aural spectrum, I Wish I Was in New York City is a gentle, contemplative number. Acoustic guitars and piano featuring strongly. Nick provides his own vocal harmonies and the rhythm is funky with some great interaction between Pete’s bass and Glenn’s drums.
THE SPIRIT OF JOHN LENNON
There’s a Lennon-ish tone to Nick’s vocals for On The Same Side, a piano ballad that blossoms into a string-laden epic. Those tones are, if anything, even more pronounced for I Wasn’t Dreaming, a song that mixes the down-the-phone delivery of My Mummy’s Dead with a dreamy chorus that recalls #9 Dream. Glenn provides a nice shuffling drumbeat and the discrete strings come in at exactly the right place.
That Moule/Denton rhythm section are on top form, once again, as Glen’s sharp, precise beats and Pete’s resonant, elastic, bass lines provide the drive to Holding on To Let Go. It’s a grinding rocker with highlights added courtesy of Nick’s glockenspiel, Ben’s piano and Tom’s guitar, before the pace is slowed right back for the lazy, world-weary Tried And Failed. The ghost of Lennon is back, as Nick confronts disappointment and lethargy with lines like: “I can’t get out of bed, Holy cow! I’m stuck inside my head…” and “Tried and failed but can’t admit I’m wrong. That ship sailed, and it’s dragging me along.”
LUSH HARMONIES
But it’s The Beach Boys, rather than any Beatle, who provide the influence for the album’s doo-wop closing track, Did I Just Fall in Love. A song that Nick wrote with Nic Cester of Aussie bands Jet and The Wrights. Lush vocal harmonies and choppy guitar licks provide the backing as Nick sings with the authentic tones of someone who has just undergone a life-changing experience that he’s yet to comprehend.
Say “Hi” to Everyone Says Hi; they’ve just made an entertaining, engaging and enjoyable debut album.
Watch the official video to Lucky Stars – a track from the album – here:
Everyone Says Hi online: Official Website / Facebook / Instagram / X (formerly Twitter) / TikTok / YouTube
Keep up with At The Barrier: Facebook / X (formerly Twitter) / Instagram / Spotify / YouTube